ATP Tour

Vacherot upsets Fritz to reach Basel final, make Monegasque history

Valentin Vacherot earned one of the most memorable wins of his season and made history at the Swiss Indoors Basel Saturday, when he upset sixth seed Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals.

With his 7-6(5), 6-3 victory against the American at the ATP 500 event, the 27-year-old advanced to his first final of the season and became the first Monegasque in tournament history to reach the championship match.

Vacherot withstood the challenge posed by Fritz’s booming deliveries with a clean serving performance of his own and prevailed in the crucial moments. The 27-year-old trailed 1/4 in the first-set tie-break but reeled off six of the next seven points to clinch the opening set. The Monegasque then secured a crucial break at 4-3 in the second set, eventually sealing victory after one hour and 26 minutes.

"You just have to pray on the returns because Taylor is one of the best servers on Tour," Vacherot said. "His spots are just amazing. Sometimes you can anticipate it, but you cannot even touch it. I am just super happy I got that break at 4-3 in the second set. I guessed well and executed it well."

Vacherot finished having won 78 per cent (40/51) of points behind first serves, according to Infosys Stats, and also struck 10 aces to Fritz’s 11. With the triumph, the 27-year-old levelled the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1, having lost to the American last year in the first round at the same event.

Vacherot is enjoying impressive form in Basel. The Monegasque defeated Mariano Navone in the first round before upsetting third seed Rafael Jodar in the second. He then ousted former World No. 4 Holger Rune in the quarter-finals before earning his sixth Top 20 win of the season with his victory over World No. 13 Fritz.

With Fritz’s loss, #NextGenATP star Jodar, who made his tour-level debut this year at the Australian Open, is guaranteed to climb into the Top 10 for the first time Monday, when the latest edition of the PIF ATP Rankings will be released.

Into his first final of the year and first at the ATP 500 level, Vacherot is seeking his first trophy since the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he forged a fairytale run to lift the title at the Masters 1000 event and became the lowest-ranked champion in series history (since 1990). The next challenge for the 27-year-old in Basel will be a championship-match clash with eighth seed Jiri Lehecka or Jan-Lennard Struff.