Tennis - ATP Masters 1000 - Shanghai Masters - Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, Shanghai, China - October 11, 2025 Monaco's Valentin Vacherot and Serbia's Novak Djokovic pose ahead of their semi final match REUTERS/Go Nakamura
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Valentin Vacherot said he surprised himself by how he managed his Shanghai Masters semi-final upset win over Novak Djokovic as the world number 204 beat the 24-times Grand Slam champion 6-3 6-4 to march into the final.
Vacherot, who arrived in Shanghai as an alternate and came through qualifiers, has experienced a meteoric rise in the last two weeks, brushing aside top seeds to become the lowest-ranked player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final.
