Valentin Vacherot: Records broken after ridiculous Shanghai Masters triumph
Valentin Vacherot: Records broken after ridiculous Shanghai Masters triumph originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Valentin Vacherot has never won a grand slam match or even been ranked in the top 100 previously – but the Monaco player is now a Masters 1000 champion.
The 26-year-old world No. 204 stunned his cousin and fellow underdog Arthur Rinderknech 4-6 6-3 6-3 to win the Shanghai Masters title over the weekend.
On September 16, Vacherot – ranked outside the top 200 – lost to world no.317 Robin Bertrand at the St Tropez Challenger event in France.
Since then, he won nine consecutive matches from the start of qualifying at the Shanghai Masters to win the title – including six three-set matches that he was down a set in.
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Some of the players the Monegasque defeated included Laslo Djere, Alexander Bublik, Tomas Machac, Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune, Novak Djokovic, before humbling Rinderknech in the final.
Vacherot's ranking has now soared to 40 after his triumph and we are about to see a lot more of him on the ATP Tour.
There were several incredible stats, records and facts surrounding Vacherot's achievement which The Sporting News will list below:
Valentin Vacherot Masters triumph – Statistics, records and facts
- The lowest-ranked player (204) to ever win a Masters 1000 title
- The first player from Monaco to win an ATP title
- Only the third Masters 1000 final in history to feature two unseeded players
- Vacherot's ranking will rise from 204 to 40 after his Shanghai win
- Almost doubled his career earnings – with the US$ 1,124,380 Shanghai prize being added to his $ 594,077 career earnings
- Defeated his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the Shanghai Masters final – a player that also had never won an ATP title
