Vacherot, who followed in Rinderknech’s footsteps by playing college tennis at Texas A&M University before turning pro, owned one 1000-level victory prior to this week. He’s been sensational playing from behind, starting with his two qualifying matches. His comeback victories in the main draw prior to Rune included No. 14 seed Alexander Bublik and No. 27 seed Tallon Griekspoor, with his run taking him to 6-1 against Top 50 opponents this season.
With Vacherot’s effort, a qualifier has now advanced to the semifinals at consecutive Masters 1000 events following Terence Atmane’s run in Cincinnati. The 26-year-old is the second lowest-ranked player to appear in the last four on the 1000 stage since the series began 35 years ago and the first qualifier to reach this juncture of the tournament in Shanghai.
Not bad for a guy who had no idea if he’d see any tournament action upon arriving.
“I landed (last) Thursday evening. I was still nine out. I knew there was a big chance because Shanghai is the (second to) last Masters 1000. A few guys, if you’re hurt at the end of the season you are not taking risks. I knew it will drop,” he recalled in press.
“I said, ‘worst of all, I was going to be here one week earlier, because I was going to play five more Challengers after.’ Now I’m just going to go home after this tournament, so it’s another funny story.”
