Vacherot surprises himself as he puts Monaco on the map
Tennis - ATP Masters 1000 - Shanghai Masters - Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, Shanghai, China - October 11, 2025 Monaco's Valentin Vacherot and Serbia's Novak Djokovic pose ahead of their semi final match REUTERS/Go Nakamura
SHANGHAI :Valentin Vacherot said he surprised himself by how he managed his Shanghai Masters semi-final upset win over Novak Djokovic as the world number 204 beat the 24-times Grand Slam champion 6-3 6-4 to march into the final.
Vacherot, who arrived in Shanghai as an alternate and came through qualifiers, has experienced a meteoric rise in the last two weeks, brushing aside top seeds to become the lowest-ranked player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final.
The 26-year-old, who said he had always wanted to play the "Big Three" of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, acknowledged how surreal it felt to face the four-times champion in Shanghai.
"I missed Federer and Nadal in my career because I was (at) such a lower ranking and they stopped their career before I was a getting into the mix of the same tournaments as them," Vacherot told reporters.
"To get to play Djokovic already once is unbelievable. To be on the other side of the court, I'm actually really surprised of how I managed it mentally."
VACHEROT OVERCOMES EARLY SETBACK
Despite an early setback when Vacherot was broken in the opening game, the Monegasque broke back immediately as Djokovic struggled with medical issues.
Djokovic was gracious in defeat, however, admitting the better player won.
"I was really happy that I broke back as quick as possible. Then it started just being a battle," Vacherot added.
"We know he's 38 years old, that it's so hard. I had so many thoughts in my head, even when I just won the first set. But every time I had little thoughts I was just thinking about the next return or next serve I was going to hit."
PUTTING MONACO ON THE MAP
Vacherot's rise has also been celebrated back home in Monaco, a tiny country not known for successful tennis players.
"We have a bunch of young kids that train every day and just the videos of seeing them jumping around when I win... What's in my heart, the most important, is the joy that I bring back home," he said.
"In singles, I'm the only one in the top 1,000, but then we have two guys in the top 40 in doubles.
"We're just such a small federation. Four players at that level is crazy for Monaco. We're a little family."
Vacherot did not stay long as he wanted to watch his cousin Arthur Rinderknech play Daniil Medvedev in the other semi-final.
"As I said already, our family (WhatsApp) group is just a bit out of control these days," he quipped.
