Valentin Vacherot continued his fairytale run through the Shanghai Masters draw by toppling an injured Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 to become the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 finalist.
In his first match against a top-five opponent, let alone the greatest menâ€s player of all time, the Monégasque world No 204 maintained his composure as he punished a hampered Djokovic, who appeared to struggle with his left gluteal muscle from early in the first set.
Having entered the tournament as the second-lowest direct entrant into the qualifying draw, Vacherot has put together one of the most shocking runs at a big tournament, winning eight matches over the past two weeks. That has included victories over the No 14 seed, Alexander Bublik, and Holger Rune, the 10th seed, alongside this giantkilling win over Djokovic, the fourth seed.
“This is just crazy,†Vacherot said on court. “It was an hour and 40 minutes of pure joy, even though not many people wanted me to keep going. Heâ€s really appreciated here. I got a bit lost in all his titles when they were announcing him, but it was an unreal experience.â€
While Vacherotâ€s career-high ranking currently sits at No 110, the second and third lowest-ranked Masters 1000 semi-finalists, No 191 Andrei Pavel and No 152 Borna Coric, were former top 20 players who had dropped down the rankings. Nothing like this has ever happened at a Masters 1000 event on the ATP tour.
Vacherotâ€s run has been an incredible spectacle by itself, but it has been made even more remarkable by the events in the top half of the draw. His cousin Arthur Rinderknech, the world No 54, has simultaneously put together the best result of his career by reaching the semi-finals. He faces the former ATP No 1 Daniil Medvedev in the second semi-final on Saturday.
The cousins, who played college tennis in the US for the Texas A&M Aggies, have been encouraging each other throughout their breakthrough runs. After closing out the victory, Vacherot signed the broadcast camera lens: “Aggies on top! Allez, Arthur!â€
Vacherotâ€s joy contrasted sharply with Djokovicâ€s misery as the 38-year-old continued to battle his own body. This had already been a challenging week for the Serb, who had suffered badly in the suffocating heat and humidity during the opening rounds, vomiting several times on court.
It appeared that Djokovic had recovered from those early difficulties well, but it became clear early in set one that he was struggling badly with injury. Djokovic took a medical time out at 3-4 in the first set and, despite the Chinese crowd urging him on, he was clearly unable to move properly until the end of the match.
Facing an injured player can still be challenging, particularly when that opponent is Djokovic, and Vacherot held his nerve in a protracted final game to close out the match. He looked apologetic as he shook Djokovicâ€s hands, but the Serb admirably offered him encouragement during their embrace: “You deserve it. You deserve it, man. You played unbelievable,†he said.
Novak Djokovic receives treatment during his semi-final defeat by Monacoâ€s Valentin Vacherot. Photograph: Jade Gao/AFP/Getty Images
Not only had Djokovic been attempting to become the oldest Masters 1000 champion, he had already become the oldest quarter-finalist at this level. He has shown this year that he is still the third best player in the world behind the untouchable duo of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
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However, there is a reason why nobody at his age has achieved the milestones he continues to reach. The countless physical problems Djokovic has struggled with between his positive performances this year have further underlined the difficulty of continuing to compete at the highest level after so many years and miles in his legs.
In some ways, Djokovic may reflect even more bitterly on this result than some of his grand slam losses this year. While he has been outplayed by Alcaraz and Sinner in the past three major tournaments, things finally seemed to line up in his favour this week after Alcaraz withdrew because of the ankle injury he sustained during his Tokyo title run and then Sinner retired from his third-round match against Tallon Griekspoor due to the punishing conditions.
Djokovic has bluntly recognised that Alcaraz and Sinner are levels above him right now, but if he continues to put himself in good positions, he may give himself a few more opportunities to achieve great things. This week represented one of those opportunities for the 24-time grand slam champion, who has not won a Masters 1000 event since 2023. Instead, his ageing body failed him again.
Coco Gauff overcame seven double faults to beat Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 and reach the Wuhan Open final where she will face Jessica Pegula in Sundayâ€s title match after her fellow American came from behind to oust the top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2). Gauff edged Paolini winning the battle of converted breaks seven-to-five as both top-10 players struggled with their service games. Third-ranked Gauff has had trouble with her serve all season and changed her serving coach in August. Fifth-ranked Paolini had eliminated Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals.
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