‘I think there are two winners’ – Vaccello wins battle of cousins to become lowest-ranked Masters winner in history – Tennis Now
There were no losers in Shanghai on Sunday, just a pair of cousins battling it out in one of the most improbable finals in Masters 1000 history.
In the end, world number 204 Valentin Vacherot defeated his cousin, whom he had always looked up to for inspiration and guidance. Monaco completed a dream run by defeating Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, making him the first Monegasque player to win the ATP title.
“What just happened is unreal,” Vacherote said. “I’m very happy with the last two weeks. I think there were two winners today – one family that won – and I think for tennis the story is untrue.”
Vaccello finished a set behind in six of his nine wins in Shanghai (including qualifying), becoming the lowest-ranked winner in Masters 1000 history and the fifth player to win his first ATP title at Masters level.
Tomorrow he will rise 164 spots to No. 40 in the ATP live rankings.
His cousin took the initiative early, saving the only break point he saw and taking the first set 6-4.
But Vaccello, 26, is undeterred.
“He did a better job than me in the first set, handling the pressure, he played a lot better than me,” Vaccello said of the first set.
He fought back from 3-0 down to win the final six games of the middle set and then played as flawlessly as possible in the third set.
After Vaccello hit 14 winners in the set and took a break lead, he finally made an unforced error in the eighth game of the deciding set. He hit a total of 17 winners in the deciding set and made two unforced errors.
“I didn’t play my best in the first set,” he said. “It’s surreal to be on this court with Arthur.”
Monagesque made another mistake but ended the match with a forehand winner to make it 5-3. He quickly gained the upper hand in the remainder of the race, breaking through Rinderknech to seal the victory in 2 hours and 14 minutes.
He hit 29 winners with 19 unforced errors, while Lindknecht hit 38 winners with 26 unforced errors.
“I was hoping there would be two winners, but unfortunately there was only one,” Vaccello said excitedly.
