Valentin Vacherot continued his fairytale run at the Shanghai Masters by defeating an injured Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4, becoming the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 finalist in history. The world No 204 from Monaco will face his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in Sunday's final after the Frenchman beat former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the other semi-final.
Vacherot, who entered the tournament as the second-lowest direct entrant into qualifying, has now won eight matches over two weeks, including victories over Alexander Bublik, Holger Rune, and Djokovic. The 24-year-old said: 'This is just crazy. It was an hour and 40 minutes of pure joy.'
Djokovic struggled with a left gluteal muscle issue from early in the first set, taking a medical timeout at 3-4. Despite the crowd's support, he was unable to move properly. After the match, Djokovic told Vacherot: 'You deserve it, man. You played unbelievable.'
Rinderknech, ranked 54th, described the all-cousin final as 'incredible', adding: 'I can't even say it's a dream because I don't think even one person in our family dreamed about it.' Both players previously played college tennis for Texas A&M University.
Djokovic had been aiming to become the oldest Masters 1000 champion, but his physical struggles continued a challenging week that saw him vomit several times on court due to heat and humidity. The 38-year-old has acknowledged that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are currently 'levels above' him.
