Qualifier Valentin Vacherot came back from one set down to upset world number 11 Holger Rune 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in the quarter final at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. The Monegasque player has reached the first Masters 1000 semifinal of his career.
Vacherot was the lowest-ranked player to reach a quarter final in Shanghai at world number 204.
Rune earned two breaks in the third and seventh games to win the first set 6-2.
Vacherot earned his first break in the fourth game of the second set after Rune made a double fault. Rune pulled back on serve in the fifth game and held serve at 30 in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Rune held on to force the second set to the tie-break. Vacherot earned an early mini-break to take a 2-0 lead. Rune pulled back on serve to draw level to 2-2. Vacherot won the final four points from 3-4 down to close the tie-break 7-4.
Vacherot earned the break in the seventh game of the third set when Rune received a time violation and made three unforced errors.
Vacherot has come back from a set down in five of his seven matches in Shanghai so far, including two in the qualifying round.
“First set, physically I was really shocked. That was a step above what I am used to. I already thought Tallon Griekspoor, in the fourth round, tennis-wise was playing really good. I was already shocked about that. Sascha Bublik, we know how he plays. You could expect any shot at any second. That’s why he’s so good. But today I was shocked by how Rune was defending. Points that I would win against 90 per cent of the guys, for him it was just a random ball. I felt like I was coming in and would have an easy volley. So the first set was pretty physical. My lungs were screaming a little bit, but that helped me a lot for the second set, because I just went off to change and it helped me to play a little bit more free”, said Vacherot in the post match interview.
