Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Valentin Vacherot created history by surprising a unique player novak djokovic To seal a spot in shanghai Masters Final, where he will notably face his cousin.
With a 6-3, 6-4 win over Djokovic, who faced multiple medical timeouts and had treatment on his lower back, world No. 204 Wachrot became the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 finalist in history.
Will be a family affair as the showpiece goes unseeded French Arthur Rinderknecht came back from a set down to score an upset win over former US Open champion and 16th seed Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Moments after Rinderknecht ensured victory, Vacherot ran onto the court and the pair were treated to emotional scenes as they reached the Masters 1000 final for the first time in their careers.
Sunday’s meeting between Monegasque qualifier Vacherot and world number 54 Rinderknecht looked to be a most unexpected outcome given the caliber of their semi-final opponents.
Djokovic was bidding for a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title, while the 38-year-old had already set a new benchmark by becoming the oldest man to reach the last four at this level.
But the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who had vomited in his previous matches in hot and humid conditions this week, once again had to struggle physically and Vacherot took advantage in brutal fashion.
Djokovic later declined to discuss his situation, instead praising Vacherot, who had beaten only two top-50 players before this tournament, which he entered as an alternate for qualifying.
“I want to congratulate Valentin on reaching his first Masters final,” the fourth-seeded player said. “On merit, it’s an amazing story. I told him on the net that his tournament has been amazing.
“What’s more, he has a great attitude, and his game was amazing. So it’s all about him. I wish him all the best in the final, and may the better player win today.”
Vacherot hit 23 winners and continued her fairytale performance with her second match point to secure the best win of her career. Vacherot is guaranteed to break into the world top 60 next week.
“This is absolutely madness,” he said later in court. “It was an hour and 40 minutes of pure joy, even though a lot of people didn’t want me to keep going. They’ve been really appreciated here.
“I was a little lost in all her titles when they were announcing them, but it was a surreal experience. Now I’m probably going to enjoy the win tonight and think about the final tomorrow.”
Vacherot watched the other semi-final and held his head in his hands in disbelief after Rinderknecht shocked 2019 champion Medvedev before running onto the court to embrace the winner.
“Even in our best dreams, we couldn’t dream about it, so I can’t even say it’s a dream because I don’t think a single person in our family dreamed about it,” Rinderknecht said.
“It wasn’t a dream, it’s just a dream that came out of nowhere. We started believing in it, I would say, in quarters, maybe.
“Now we’re here, we’ve fought a lot of matches and somehow we’re (two) guys standing at the end, so it’s incredible.”