Browsing: Arthur

Valentin Vacherot said he finds it easier to play against opponents he doesn’t know well after beating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech for the second time in the space of three weeks at the Paris Masters.

Monaco’s Vacherot overcame a slow start to claim a 6-7 (9-11) 6-3 6-4 victory and set up a third-round meeting with British number two Cameron Norrie.

The 26-year-old claimed a shock victory against Rinderknech in the final of the Shanghai Masters earlier this month, becoming the lowest ranked ATP Masters 1,000 champion since the series began in 1990 (world number 204).

“I did feel a lot more tension than I did yesterday,” said Vacherot, who before Shanghai had never faced his cousin in a professional match.

“Was that because it was Arthur on the other side of the net? Maybe. In any case, it’s probably easier to approach matches against players I know less well.”

Vacherot beat Alexander Bublik, Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic to reach the final in China, where he beat his cousin 4-6 6-3 6-3 to win a career-first ATP title and £824,000 in prize money.

Having risen to 40th in the world rankings, Vacherot eased past world number 14 Jiri Lehecka 6-1 6-3 on Tuesday to set up another clash with world number 29 Rinderknech.

“The first set wasn’t easy, for either of us. We were both very tense, and I think it showed,” Vacherot said.

“After that first set, I felt better, the pressure dropped a little. Overall, I’m happy with how I served and with the pressure I was able to put on his return games.”

Rinderknech said: “It was different from Shanghai. The match was completely different.

“There wasn’t much missing, actually, in terms of offensiveness and winners. He deserves his victory.”

After writing “Grandpa and Grandma would be proud” on the courtside camera in Shanghai, Vacherot wrote “I love my family” on a camera in Paris.

He will now face Norrie, who came from behind to stun world number one Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-3 6-4 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, world number two Jannik Sinner eased to a 6-4 6-2 win over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.

Alcaraz’s early exit means Sinner will reclaim top spot in the world rankings if he wins the Paris Masters.

Reigning champion Alexander Zverev battled past Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 7-5 to reach the third round, but Norwegian eighth seed Casper Ruud lost his opening match against 50th-ranked German Daniel Altmaier 6-3 7-5.

Former world number one Daniil Medvedev of Russia was given a walkover to the third round after Grigor Dimitrov withdrew with a shoulder injury, while Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Alexandre Muller 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4).

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Former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones posted a moving tribute to his late brother, former NFL defensive tackle Arthur Jones.

“Arthur was not just a Super Bowl champion but a father, spouse, son, brother, everyone’s best friend, a gentle giant whose kindness and generosity knew no bounds,” Jon wrote in his caption of a remembrance video on Instagram.

Arthur Jones died at the age of 39 on Oct. 3. He played seven seasons in the NFL and was a part of the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl win during the 2012 campaign.

Jon wrote about Arthur’s “love for the outdoors,” his involvement in charities and how he gave back to his community. The 38-year-old said his brother “brought pure joy, warmth and laughter to every moment spent around him.”

“His legacy inspires me every day. Our dad Arthur Jones Jr, me, Chandler, Arthur Jones IV, and the rest of the family are committed to moving forward striving to be the best versions of ourselves, just as he would have wanted,” Jon wrote.

Their younger brother, Chandler Jones, also played 11 seasons in the NFL and won the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2014. The brothers were frequently seen supporting Jon throughout his UFC career, and they were in attendance for his last fight at UFC 309 last November.

“King Arthur will truly be missed, he’s gone way too soon, but his spirit will live on in our hearts forever,” Jon wrote at the end of his caption. “Rest easy, big bro, you deserve it, you did amazing.”

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The Tennessee Titans need a new head coach after they announced Monday they fired Brian Callahan, and they reportedly have their eyes on two potential candidates.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith are “a couple names to watch” in the early stages of the process.

That Tennessee would be looking at offensive coaches comes as no surprise.

After all, it selected Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft. His ability to live up to expectations and become a franchise quarterback will go a long way toward determining how successful the Titans are in the immediate future, so they will want to hire a coach who could help maximize his ability.

Yet Nagy and Smith don’t exactly have long track records of success as head coaches.

Nagy went 12-4 as the Coach of the Year in his first season with the Chicago Bears in 2018 but then went 22-27 during the next three seasons. His play-calling was consistently questioned during those last three years, which was notable since he was hired as an offensive coach.

As for Smith, he went 21-30 during his three seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2021 through 2023. His offense finished 26th in the league scoring in two of those three seasons and 15th in the other, which raised concerns since he was an offensive coach.

This is also Smith’s second season as the offensive coordinator for the Steelers, and the AFC North team was 23rd in yards last year and sits in 29th in the early going this year.

Smith is at least a familiar name for the Titans, as he was their offensive coordinator for two seasons in 2019 and 2020. That is also when he found the most success, as the offense finished in the top 10 in the league in scoring in each of those two years.

Tennessee is sure to conduct a wide-ranging search and could very well wait until the season ends and more candidates emerge. But Smith and Nagy are early names to watch as the AFC South team searches for the coach to pair with Ward.

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Oct 12, 2025, 07:27 AM ET

SHANGHAI — Valentin Vacherot beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Shanghai Masters for the first title of his career after a stunning run from the qualifying rounds.

The 204th-ranked Vacherot, an unheralded 26-year-old, was the lowest-ranked tournament winner in ATP Masters 1000 history — and the first from the tiny Principality of Monaco.

It was quite a performance, too.

He stunned 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals to set up a final against the 30-year-old Rinderknech, who had downed four-time major finalist Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, in a remarkable semifinal of his own.

Vacherot produced a serving masterclass in the third set, with three straight love holds and 15 consecutive points before finally losing a point in the eighth game with an unforced error.

Serving to stay in the match at 15-40 down, Rinderknech saved one match point but Vacherot wrong-footed him with yet another blistering forehand winner down the line to clinch victory.

He held his face in his hands in disbelief before walking to the net to hug his cousin and then rushing to his team box to share a long hug with coach Benjamin Balleret, who is his half-brother and is a former tennis player from Monaco.

Balleret’s career highlight was a defeat to tennis great Roger Federer in the early rounds of the Monte Carlo Masters in 2006.

Nineteen years later, Federer was in the Shanghai crowd watching as Rinderknech clinched the first set with an ace.

Vacherot secured an early break in the decider and then missed four break-point chances in the fifth game as Rinderknech got a reprieve. The Frenchman immediately took a three-minute medical timeout for massage treatment on his back and then his left shoulder.

But there was nothing he could do to stop his cousin’s momentum.

They never played each other before on the professional tour, with Rinderknech winning their only meeting at a futures tournament in 2018.

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World number 204 Valentin Vacherot upset his cousin Arthur Rinderknech to win his first ATP title at the Shanghai Masters.

Monaco’s Vacherot fought back from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-3 against the world number 54 to become the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1,000 champion since the series began in 1990.

The 26-year-old earns prize money of £824,000 – more than double Vacherot’s previous career earnings of £380,000.

He sealed the success with a searing forehand down the line and, after hugging Rinderknech at the net, sprinted off court and up to one of the boxes to celebrate with his coach and family.

Vacherot then continued the winner’s tradition of writing a message on one of the courtside cameras, writing “Grandpa and Grandma would be proud”.

Both players struggled to hold back tears during their post-match speeches on court.

“It is unreal what just happened – I have no idea what is happening right now. I am not even dreaming, it is just crazy,” said Vacherot.

“There has to be one loser but I think there are two winners today. One family that won and I think for the sport of tennis, the story is unreal.”

Frenchman Rinderknech added: “Valentin, you gave everything. I am so happy for you. Two cousins are stronger than one.”

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Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie claimed a first win since September’s US Open, beating Frenchman Arthur Cazaux in a third-set tie-break at the Shanghai Masters.

The British number two was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the third round at Flushing Meadows and has since tasted back-to-back defeats in Chengdu and Beijing.

But it proved to be third-time lucky in China for Norrie as the five-time winner on the ATP Tour clinched a rollercoaster 6-3 0-6 7-6 (7-5) win over the world number 70.

Norrie, the 30th seed and ranked 33rd in the world, showed all his experience as he breezed through the opening set courtesy of two breaks, making just four unforced errors and barely dropping a point on serve.

Yet 23-year-old Cazaux came out firing in the second set, claiming a first break of serve in the opening game before going on to inflict just a seventh bagel – 6-0 defeat – of Norrie’s career.

The Briton did well to regroup in the third, once again showing too much guile for his younger opponent, outfoxing him with his left-hand serve to regain a measure of control.

Neither player was able to make a dent on their opponent’s serve, as they struggled through hot and humid conditions, but a double fault from Cazaux in the third point of the tie-break ultimately proved the difference in a match that lasted two hours.

After being given a bye in the first round, Norrie’s first win at a Masters 1000 event since May, when he won on the clay in Rome, set up a third-round match against 19-year-old American Learner Tien.

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One of the prevailing themes of the Steve Staios era in Ottawa is that the general manager and his staff have done an excellent job of targeting and acquiring players who represented good fits.

With the exception of last summer’s Linus Ullmark trade, this front office has historically avoided making splashy moves of the previous regime by avoiding players who carry a lot of name value but fail to move the needle because they are a poor fit.

Working the margins and making incremental gains to support the organization’s young core has been the principal focus for the hockey operations department. Adding players like Nick Jensen, Jordan Spence, and Adam Gaudette will never generate big headlines, but they all were or continue to be better fits than the players they replaced.

In the case of Gaudette, last year’s free agent signing was coming off a strong 44-goal season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Thanks to his familiarity playing for head coach Travis Green during their time together in Vancouver, Gaudette turned a productive preseason (four goals, one assist in five games) into an extended audition with the club that culminated in his best season as a pro. The 28-year-old recorded 19 goals and 26 points for the Senators while predominantly playing on the fourth line and second power play unit.

He parlayed those efforts into a two-year, $4.0 million contract ($2.0 million AAV) with San Jose.

Steve Warne did an excellent job drawing parallels between the Gaudette and Kaliyev situations earlier this offseason, so I will not discuss in detail here, but Gaudette’s absence created an opportunity. With it, the Senators targeted another player the hockey ops department is familiar with – signing unrestricted free agent winger, Arthur Kaliyev, to a one-year, two-way deal.

Could Arthur Kaliyev Be The Senators’ Next Adam Gaudette Story?
One of the feel-good stories of training camp last season was Ottawa Senators centre Adam Gaudette. Gaudette came to Ottawa last summer on a one-year, two-way contract, to battle for one of the final forward positions on the NHL roster. No one ruled him out, but he certainly wasn’t a shoo-in either.

The winger spent three years playing for Michael Andlauer and Steve Staios’ OHL Hamilton Bulldogs and won an OHL championship in 2018. Although Kaliyev was just a developing teenage prospect at the time, these years will inevitably provide familiarity and intimate knowledge of his strengths and weaknesses.

Kaliyev has been linked to the Senators since his 2019 draft year when the organization selected Shane Pinto with the 32nd overall selection. Several prognosticators believed it was a missed opportunity to draft Kaliyev, who was taken just one pick later by the Los Angeles Kings. In the Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings, Pinto was the 28th-ranked North American skater, while Kaliyev ranked seventh.

Kaliyev’s offensive production in Hamilton drove his draft value. Widely praised and renowned for his NHL-ready shot, he tallied 51 goals and 102 points in 67 games during his draft-eligible 2018-19 season.

In the years that followed, Kaliyev’s stock has dropped, but I spoke with the winger Thursday morning about his opportunity in Ottawa.

“It was really good,” the Uzbekistani winger said with a smile as he described his summer. “I trained hard. I had two tough injuries last year, and it was the hardest-working summer that I’ve had in a while. I’m trying to get back to the top of my game.”

Kaliyev sustained a fractured clavicle while battling with defenceman Kyle Burroughs on the second day of training camp last season. When he was cleared to return for play with the Kings in early January, the organization put him on waivers, where the New York Rangers claimed him.

The winger would play 14 games with the Rangers (three goals, one assist) before breaking his surgically-repaired clavicle again, ending his season.

The experience of a lost season ate at Kaliyev.

“Yeah, it was really, really frustrating,” he admitted. “I felt I was just starting to get better (in New York). I had a couple of good moments, and then I got hurt again.

“It was really, really sad at first when that happened. So, (when I recovered) I went back to work as soon as I could.”

That his career was reaching a pivotal moment was not lost on Kaliyev. The Rangers ultimately decided it was not worth tendering him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Once Kaliyev recovered, he began his offseason workouts at the end of May, acknowledging that he had taken his training to a higher level.

“Everything needed to be at a top level with a lot of extra work, after missing so much time last year with injuries and recovering and not playing,” Kaliyev described. “I took it up a notch in the summer to get on top of my game and get my weight and body right.”

His NHL career began modestly enough. In his first full season as a 20-year-old in 2021-22, he tallied 14 goals and 27 points in 80 games. He followed that up by recording 13 goals and 28 points 56 games, improving his five-on-five points rate while leading the team in his individual expected goals rate (1.07 ixG/60) per NaturalStatTrick.

It is these levels that Kaliyev wants to get back to and surpass.

“In my second year, I was close to breaking out,” he confidently stated. “Then injuries started piling on for three years in a row. (My frustrations and struggles) don’t mean I can quit now.

“I’m trying to get back (to those levels), but I can’t (dwell on) the past. I want to try to get back to my top level and be even better than I was. I just have to keep working hard. Don’t quit on ice mentally and keep going every day. Keep working on being better in practices and games every day.”

Lip service and optimism are never in short supply during training camps around the NHL, but during my conversation with Kaliyev, it is evident that he understands how important this season will be for his career.

Given those stakes, it made sense for him to sign with the Senators where there is some familiarity.

“(Management) knows me well, and I don’t know how other teams would think of me after coming back from two surgeries,” said Kaliyev. “I’m not sure if I would get as good of a chance (to play and develop) if I went to another team.

“Ottawa knows me the best as a player and as a person. It will help me the most to become a top player again.”

The opportunity to reunite with Staios was a drawing factor.

“He knows how I can play,” Kaliyev stated. “He knows I try to play and work hard in every single game. (Staios) is going to help me to get back to the top of my game.

“I know they have a great staff here, too. I think they are one of the best, so they know what they are doing. To come here, this was my best option.”

Kaliyev was not discouraged by the fact that the Senators have quality depth at the wing position.

“I definitely compete in everything and will do everything I can (to win a roster spot),” he stated. “This is part of the business, and I’ll do my best to compete with anyone.”

Given his age, his underlying metrics and the organization’s familiarity with the player, it is easy to understand why the Senators would afford Kaliyev a chance to see if he can recapture some of the lustre.

As one of the lowest-scoring five-on-five teams in the league last season, the coaching staff will be looking for improvements. If Kaliyev can stay healthy and if his usage mirrors how the organization handled Gaudette, he could be an inexpensive secondary scorer for the club.

He represents a low-risk move with upside, but some of that enthusiasm dampened earlier this week after his ex-girlfriend made allegations on TikTok about verbal abuse and financial manipulation.

Steve Staios touched upon those allegations during his availability on the first day of training camp.

“We’re aware of (the allegations),” the general manager acknowledged. “It’s being monitored, but there’s nothing to it, is what we’ve been told. I don’t really have more to say on it.”

When I addressed the allegations with Kaliyev, I did not invite the player to comment on their specifics. I simply asked whether they were a distraction or had negatively impacted him as he began training camp with a new organization.

Kaliyev refused to comment.

By Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News Ottawa
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