Arthur Rinderknech was able to beat Alexander Zverev for the second time this season.
Rinderknech beat Zverev in five sets at Wimbledon, causing a shock first-round exit for the world number three.
The Frenchman has had mixed results since this victory, and Rinderknech admitted he struggled to breathe in his previous match in Shanghai.
However, he was able to pull it all together once again, with Rinderknech beating Zverev at the Shanghai Masters, 4-6 6-3 6-2.
Arthur Rinderknech explains what he did to beat Alexander Zverev again
Zverev made some bold comments about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner after his first match at the Shanghai Masters, but was unable to take advantage of their absence after losing to the world number 54.
Rinderknech now has a 2-0 head-to-head against Zverev, and he spoke to L’Equipe after his big win in Shanghai.
“Of course, there aren’t many players who can say they’re 2-0 against Zverev in their career, in two big tournaments at that, so I’m very happy, very proud, it means a lot to beat him again, and to beat good players,” said Rinderknech.
“My level of play is there, it’s been there for some time now, it’s continuing, it’s good. It’s the path we’re looking for, that we’re refining, it’s a good thing. The next match is extremely important to confirm that.”
Rinderknech was then asked about his tactics, as he seemingly used a lot of variety to move Zverev around the court.
This is something that he revealed he spoke to his coach and former top 10 player Lucas Pouille about, with Rinderknech suggesting Zverev struggles when this happens.
“Yes, that was part of the plan, we talked about it with Lucas (his coach) I did it a lot at Wimbledon too,” Rinderknech answered. “It’s not what he’s best at or most skilful at, so the idea is to try to get him to come forward to destabilize him.
“He likes to be far from his line, counter, hit hard, force his opponent to make a mistake. That’s what happened in the first set. I found more tactical accuracy after that, to combine forward shots and push him back, while keeping him on his toes with drop shots to force him to stay close to his line, which he doesn’t like.”
Arthur Rinderknech is not the only member of his family enjoying a run at the Shanghai Masters
While Rinderknech is one of the big stories at the Shanghai Masters already this year, he is not the only member of his family to be doing well at the ATP 1000 tournament.
After coming from a set down to beat Zverev, Rinderknech wrote on the camera ‘fam’s first’, and was also asked about this.
Rinderknech’s cousin, Valentin Vacherot has made history for his country at the Shanghai Masters this year, and his other cousin coaches the Monegasque.
“Yes, they are my family, my real cousins. I am super proud of Valentin and also Benjamin [Balleret]. It illustrates everything they are capable of. I was lucky to have them with me this evening, it was really nice. It’s also for those who are at home, not with me this week.”
Rinderknech is already into the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters for the first time, and he will look to continue his breakthrough run when he plays 15th seed Jiri Lehecka.
While his world number 204 ranked cousin Vacherot takes on Tallon Griekspoor, who outlasted Sinner after he retired.
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