Vacherot's unforgettable Shanghai run: Five jaw-dropping facts
Valentin Vacherot at the Rolex Shanghai Masters has crafted one of the most memorable runs in ATP Tour history.
A qualifier who entered the tournament No. 204 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Vacherot has introduced himself to the tennis world in stunning fashion, reaching the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event with an upset of 100-time tour-level titlist Novak Djokovic on Saturday.
ATPTour.com looks at five stunning facts about the Monagesque star’s tournament.
Vacherot is lowest-ranked finalist in ATP Masters 1000 series history
Entering Shanghai, the lowest-ranked finalist in Masters 1000 history (since 1990) was Andrei Pavel, who made the championship match at the 2003 Rolex Paris Masters. The Romanian was World No. 191 when he pushed eventual champion Tim Henman to a final-set tie-break before falling short.
Vacherot is the first player outside the Top 200 to make a Masters 1000 final.
Lowest-Ranked ATP Masters 1000 Finalists (since 1990)
| Player | Event | Ranking |
| Valentin Vacherot | 2025 Shanghai | No. 204 |
| Andrei Pavel | 2003 Paris | No. 191 |
| Borna Coric | 2022 Cincinnati | No. 152 |
| Harel Levy | 2000 Toronto | No. 144 |
| Roberto Carretero | 1996 Hamburg | No. 143 |
He Has Made Monegasque History
No player representing Monaco had made the quarter-finals of an ATP Tour event, let alone the final of an ATP Masters 1000 event. By stunning Djokovic, Vacherot also became the first Monegasque player to earn a Top 10 win.
He will make his Top 100 debut after Shanghai and is currently No. 58 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Shocker From Outside Top 200
During his storybook tournament, Vacherot has earned three Top 20 victories, eliminating No. 17 Alexander Bublik, No. 11 Holger Rune and No. 5 Djokovic. He is only the second man ranked outside the Top 200 to claim three wins against Top 20 opponents this century.
The other player who did it was No. 205 Tim van Rijthoven, who beat three opponents inside the Top 15 to lift the ‘s-Hertogenbosch title in 2022.
Vacherot Nearly Perfect Against Top 50 This Season
With his victory against Djokovic, Vacherot is now 7-1 against players inside the Top 50 in 2025. Five of those triumphs have come in Shanghai, also beating No. 31 Tallon Griekspoor and No. 23 Tomas Machac.
This season he has also defeated then-No. 37 Nuno Borges in Davis Cup action and No. 49 Jan-Lennard Struff at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. That was his only career ATP Tour win prior to Shanghai, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index (was 1-5 in ATP main draws). His lone loss this year against a Top 50 opponent came in three sets in the Monte-Carlo second round against Grigor Dimitrov.
Seventh Player To Reach First Final At Masters 1000 Event Since 2000
Before the Rolex Shanghai Masters, only six players this century had made their first ATP Tour final at a Masters 1000 event. Vacherot is the seventh.
The 26-year-old joined Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Dusan Lajovic, Filip Krajinovic, Jerzy Janowicz, Radek Stepanek and Max Mirnyi in achieving the feat. Nobody on the list won the title, so Vacherot will try to become the first. Find out where each player made his breakthrough below.
| Player | Event |
| Valentin Vacherot | 2025 Shanghai |
| Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | 2022 Monte-Carlo |
| Dusan Lajovic | 2019 Monte-Carlo |
| Filip Krajinovic | 2017 Paris |
| Jerzy Janowicz | 2012 Paris |
| Radek Stepanek | 2004 Paris |
| Max Mirnyi | 2001 Stuttgart |