Arthur Rinderknech will break into the world’s top 40 on Monday for the first time in his career after sealing his place in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.
The 30-year-old underdog came into the tournament having never gone beyond the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament in his career. However, Rinderknech has produced a series of stunning wins in China, with his latest triumph being over 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals on Friday, who he beat 6-3, 6-4. In his latest match, the Frenchman produced 19 winners against only five unforced errors and won 85% of his first service points.
Earlier in the tournament, Rinderknech also produced surprise wins over seeded players Jiri Lehecka, Alexander Zverev and Alex Michelsen. Remarkably, he has won seven out of 10 matches against top-20 players since June. Prior to this, his record was 6-26.
“Today is a good performance from myself,” he said.
“I’m happy to get the win. Two sets, so I cannot be too tired for tomorrow.”
Rinderknech isn’t the only player having a fairytale run in Shanghai. Another is Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot, who is also his cousin. Vacherot is currently ranked 204th in the world and had to come through qualifying. In the main draw, he has knocked out Alexander Bublik, Tomas Machac, Taloon Griekspoor and Holger Rune. Vacherot, who is the first man from Monaco to reach the last four of a Masters event, will make his top 100 debut next week.
“I follow my cousin, he is going through the emotions and I’m trying to battle to follow and do as good as him,” said Rinderknech.
“It’s been incredible since the beginning of the week. The whole family is following from home.
“We are a little world of our own. It’s been unreal.”
The cousins are on course to face each other in the Shanghai final in what would be a shock encounter that few predicted. However, they both have tricky semi-final matches ahead of them. Rinderknech next faces either Alex de Minaur or Daniil Medvedev. Meanwhile, Vacherot plays 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
