World No.5 and 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic was on Saturday stunned by the 204th-ranked Valentin Vacherot of Monaco in the semi-final of the Shanghai Masters. Vacherot seemed to have surprised himself with the win, expressing disbelief over what just happened after the match. Just as incredibly, he will be facing his cousin in the final, the 54th-ranked Arthur Rinderknech of France who himself pulled off an upset in the second semi-final by beating 16th seed Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
There was nothing surprising about how the match ended considering how it went though, with Vacherot winning 6-3, 6-4. “Is this real? I don’t know,” the 26-year-old Vacherot said moments after defeating the 24-time Grand Slam champion. “To have Novak on the other side of the court was, first of all, an unbelievable experience for me.”
Valentin Vacherot managed to bounce back from being broken in the opening game. (AP Photo)
Vacherot was broken in the opening game itself. However, the Monegasque broke back immediately as Djokovic struggled with medical issues. He then won the next two games with ease to secure the first set before batting Djokovic for 12 minutes in the first game of the second set. The latter managed to win it after saving two break points. However, Djokovic then lost his serve with a double fault and Vacherot took a 5-4 lead that tipped the set in his favour.
Vacherot said that had always wanted to play the “Big Three” of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, acknowledged how surreal it felt to face the four-times champion in Shanghai. “I missed Federer and Nadal in my career because I was (at) such a lower ranking and they stopped their career before I was a getting into the mix of the same tournaments as them,” Vacherot told reporters.
Djokovic was slowed throughout the match by a sore hip. (AP Photo)
“To get to play Djokovic already once is unbelievable. To be on the other side of the court, I’m actually really surprised of how I managed it mentally.”
Djokovic was gracious in defeat. “It’s all about him,” Djokovic said. “I wish him all the best in the final, and the better player won today.“Going from qualifications, it’s an amazing story,” Djokovic added. “I told him at the net that he’s had an amazing tournament, but more so his attitude is very good, and his game was amazing as well.”
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