Valentin Vacherot has produced one of the stories of the season after beating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final of the Shanghai Masters.
Vacherot was shocked to win the Shanghai Masters, which he did via a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 final win over Rinderknech.
Both players were chasing their first career titles at the Shanghai Masters, where Vacherot has become the first-ever tennis player from Monaco to win an ATP title.
Starting the event at world number 204, he also represents the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion in history.
Vacherot will now rise to 40th in the rankings following his phenomenal run, which started out in qualifying and included wins over Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune.
Valentin Vacherot completes feat achieved by just one other player after winning the Shanghai Masters
The remarkable storyline doesn’t end there, with Vacherot’s journey in Shanghai helping him join Tommy Haas in an exclusive list.
Since the format’s introduction in 1990, he is only the second player to claim four-plus wins from a set down on the way to an ATP Masters 1000 success.
That is according to OptaAce, with Vacherot following in the footsteps of Haas who achieved the feat at Stuttgart in 2001.
How much money Valentin Vacherot has earned for his Shanghai Masters win compared to his entire career
Along with his trophy and ranking points, there is the small matter of prize money going the way of Vacherot.
The Monegasque ace had earned $594,077 heading into Shanghai, but has just claimed $1,124,380 for clinching the title.
It’s a truly remarkable story, and should help propel the 26-year-old to much bigger things going forward.
Rinderknech meanwhile will have bittersweet memories of the final, having fallen short of a maiden title at the hands of his cousin, who he is clearly very proud of.
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