ATP Tour

Vacherot, 'living the dream', stuns Rune for Shanghai SF spot

Valentin Vacherot added another memorable moment to his 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters odyssey on Thursday afternoon. The Monegasque qualifier outlasted 10th seed Holger Rune for a stunning 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 quarter-final victory at the Chinese ATP Masters 1000.

Despite a difficult start, the World No. 204 Vacherot stuck with Rune in the second set before powering past the Dane in the decider to become the second lowest-ranked semi-finalist in Masters 1000 history (since 1990), after then-World No. 550 Chris Woodruff at 1999 Indian Wells. With his two-hour, 59-minute victory, the 26-year-old Vacherot simultaneously ensured he will on Monday crack the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time. He is up 112 spots to No. 92 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Remember the name 🌟

World No. 204 @val_vacherot defeats Rune to reach the @SH_RolexMasters final four.#RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/oTVxHiaNpM

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 9, 2025

“I didn’t come as a qualifier, I came as an alternate. I wasn’t even sure I was going to play qualifying,” said Vacherot. “This is just unbelievable. The last win meant already so much to me. This one means even more.

“It was tough not to think about it on match point, also breaking the Top 100. I know this is just a step, but I tried not to look at the rankings for this whole tournament. I had read that if I won, I would break the Top 100, but this is just unbelievable for me. I cannot wait for [the semi-final]. I’m just so happy and living the dream.”

Vacherot held a physical edge over Rune in the deciding set, during which the World No. 11 twice called for the trainer to massage his right upper leg. Although the Dane continued to go for his shots, Vacherot held his nerve to save two break points in the 10th game before converting his second match point for the biggest win of his career.

Vacherot has come back from a set down in five of his seven matches in Shanghai (including two in qualifying). He will next bid to reach his first tour-level final when he takes on record four-time champion Novak Djokovic or Zizou Bergs in the last four.

“First set, physically I was really shocked. That was a step above [what I am used to],” said Vacherot. “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.”

Already the first Monegasque quarter-finalist in Masters 1000 history, Vacherot extended his run by converting two of four break points he earned in the match against Rune, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He is the second qualifier to reach a Masters 1000 semi-final in 2025, after Terence Atmane also made that stage in August in Cincinnati.