Valentin Vacherot overcame a 6-2 loss in the first set against World No. 11 Holger Rune and bounced back in the other two sets to reach Shanghai Masters semi-finals an extending a dream run that will see sky rocket from World No. 204 to World No. 92.
The 26-year-old Monégasque player (cousin to Arthur Rinderknech and half-brother of retired player Benjamin Balleret, now his coach) became a pro player relatively late, not debuting in a Masters 1000 until 2023 and in a Grand Slam until 2024, when he reached a then best rank of 92. With no senior titles under his name, this will be his first ever semi-final... at a Masters 1,000, no less.
Vacherot, who became the first qualifier to reach semi-finals at the Chinese Masters 1,000, nearly didn't enter the competition, travelling to Shanghai without knowing he would make the qualifying cut-off list: "I didn't come as a qualifier, I came as an alternate. I wasn't even sure I was going to play qualifying. This is just unbelievable. The last win meant already so much to me. This one means even more", said Vacherot, who tried not to look at the rankings for the whole tournament, after the disappointment of getting 30 points behind of making into the top 100 last year.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic defeated Zizou Bergs in straight sets and will face Vacherot on Saturday for the semi-final.