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World no. 204 Vacherot stuns Rune to reach Shanghai semi-finals / Photo: Hector RETAMAL - AFP
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World no. 204 Vacherot stuns Rune to reach Shanghai semi-finals
Qualifier Valentin Vacherot battled back to stun world number 11 Holger Rune and reach the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Thursday, winning 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
He will face the winner of Thursday's late match, either 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic -- which he said would be "unreal" -- or Belgian Zizou Bergs.
Vacherot, who at 204th was the lowest-ranked player to ever make a quarter-final in Shanghai, came back from a set down, denying the Dane what had initially looked like a straightforward win.
"We know anything can happen in tennis," said Monaco's Vacherot.
"It's one of the first times in my life I've played that good of a player... I was shocked by how physical he was."
Rune broke in the third and seventh games to comfortably win the first set against the 26-year-old.
Vacherot seized the chance to go ahead in the fourth game of the second set after a double fault by the 22-year-old Dane, but Rune hit back almost immediately.
Watched on by his cousin Arthur Rinderknech, who will play in the quarter-finals on Friday, Vacherot held on doggedly to force a tense tiebreak.
Rune looked increasingly rattled as he failed to assert control, and despite hitting two aces in the tiebreak, ultimately conceded the second set.
His frustration came to a head in the seventh game of the third set when he received a time violation and committed three unforced errors to hand Vacherot the break.
The Dane appeared to be struggling physically by the end, and despite his last-gasp efforts, Vacherot held to secure an unlikely victory, falling to his knees in disbelief.
"I just kept fighting harder and harder," said the Monegasque. "In the end it was just all about nerves and fitness."
S.Urgo--INP
