Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot hopes his fairytale run at the Shanghai Masters will help him achieve another dream of his later this month on the Tour.
The 26-year-old has shot into the limelight following his incredible triumph in China, where he won his first ATP title of any kind by producing a series of shock wins. After coming through the qualifying rounds, Vacherot scored successive wins over Alexander Bublik, Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic on his way to the final. In the title match, he took on another underdog in the shape of France’s Arthur Rinderknech, who is also his cousin. After dropping the first set, Vacherot bounced back to win in three and become the lowest-ranked Masters champion of all time, as well as the first player from Monaco in the Open Era to win an ATP title.
“Valentin wants to get back on the court. He gained confidence in these matches and he wants to play against highly ranked players again. It motivates him more than ever,” Vacherot’s coach and half-brother Benjamin Balleret told reporters earlier this week.
Following his run, Vacherot has shot up the rankings to 40th in the world, which is the first time he has been in the top 100. He returns to action at the Basel Open next week, but another tournament on his mind is closer to his home.
“It would be a dream. Two weeks ago, I would never have imagined I would one day be able to play the Paris (Masters) tournament. I thought I would find myself in Challengers in Asia like I usually do. To find myself at La Défense Arena would be crazy for me.” He said.
A formal request has been sent to the organisers of the Paris Masters for a wildcard. The tournament usually issues wildcard’s to French Players. Andy Murray was the last non-French player to receive a pass for the tournament in 2021.
This year’s tournament is being held at the La Défense Arena for the first time after moving from the Accor Arena. The venue hosted swimming and water polo events during the 2024 Summer Olympics.
