Bublik was one of Vacherot’s first victims in Shanghai. The Monegasque qualifier bounced the No. 14 seed in the second round, rallying from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
From there, Vacherot went on a tear, toppling No. 20 Tomas Machac, No. 27 Tallon Griekspoor, No. 10 Holger Rune, and finally four-time Shanghai champion and world No. 4 Novak Djokovic to reach the final. He sealed the dream run by defeating his cousin, Rinderknech, in what became the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 final in ATP history.
But despite the remarkable storyline, Shanghai proved to be a major missed opportunity for the rest of the field. World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz withdrew before the tournament due to an ankle injury, while No. 2 Jannik Sinner retired in the third round with leg cramps.
“We failed, we didn’t get ready enough for the Masters—he cracked, I don’t know how many Top 20 players and two Top 10,” Bublik said of Vacherot. “He won a Masters. And on the other side is Arthur (Rinderknech), killing everyone.”
