"Dark horse" Vacherot causes shock, challenges Djokovic in Shanghai Masters semi-finals

(Dan Tri) - From a tennis player who almost did not qualify for the Shanghai Masters 2025, Valentin Vacherot is causing a shock by winning consecutively from the qualifying round to the main round. He will face Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals this afternoon (October 11).

Shanghai Masters 2025 semi-final schedule

October 11

Novak Djokovic - Valentin Vacherot (15h)

Daniil Medvedev - Arthur Rinderknech (6:30 p.m.)

Valentin Vacherot's impressive performance at the Shanghai Masters is becoming the center of attention of the world tennis village. The Monaco player, who started the tournament with a ranking of 204 ATP, has created a magical journey, overcoming a series of strong opponents to reach the semi-finals, where he will face the legend Novak Djokovic.

Vacherot proved his mettle in the qualifying round by beating two seeds to reach the main draw. He then continued to surprise by successively overcoming Laslo Djere (world No. 82), Alexander Bublik (world No. 14, world No. 17), Tomas Machac (world No. 20, world No. 23) and another seed in the third round to advance to the quarterfinals.

Vacherot is becoming a phenomenon at the Shanghai Masters 2025 (Photo: Getty).

The highlight of this winning streak was a dramatic quarter-final against 10th seed Holger Rune (world No. 11). Vacherot made a dramatic comeback after losing the first set, winning 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 to book his place in the semi-finals.

With this achievement, Valentin Vacherot has set many memorable milestones. He became the first player from Monaco to reach the semi-finals of an ATP Masters. He is the second lowest-ranked player (after Chris Woodruff at Indian Wells 1999) to reach the semi-finals of a Masters 1000 since 1990.

Vacherot's success has caught the attention of the tennis world, including Novak Djokovic. The 24-time Grand Slam champion had heartfelt words of praise for his upcoming opponent.

“I’ve known Valentin for a few years now. Obviously he was ranked outside the top 200 before this tournament. He’s played a lot. He’s playing for Monaco, which is a huge success, the biggest success in the history of Monaco tennis,” Djokovic said.

The Serb added: “It’s fantastic. Everyone there is so excited. We know that Monaco is having one of the best and biggest tournaments in our sport .

So I'm happy for Valentin and his team. Benjamin Balleret (his half-brother and also Vacherot's coach) is someone I've known for many years in Monaco, because he's been in Monaco for 15 years and trains at Monte Carlo Country Club.

Vacherot defeated many seeded players at the 2025 Shanghai Masters (Photo: Getty).

Valentin has improved a lot. We always knew he had great potential, with a strong serve, big games, he is a big guy. Valentin plays a lot like Arthur Rinderknech (Vacherot's cousin). I see them getting along quite well.

The serve in particular reminds me of Arthur. So it's great to see the chemistry between them, they support each other. Arthur has always been there for Valentin's matches. He has had a successful history in the tournament, and I'm looking forward to playing against him. Hopefully I can win."

Despite facing the biggest test of his career in Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, Vacherot has certainly made a breakthrough. He will move up 112 places in the ATP rankings to a career-high No. 92, officially breaking into the world top 100. Vacherot initially didn’t even qualify for the qualifiers, but a last-minute withdrawal opened the door for him to write this fairytale.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/ngua-o-vacherot-gay-soc-thach-thuc-djokovic-o-ban-ket-thuong-hai-masters-20251011100709827.htm