Injury-hit Novak Djokovic fell to a shock defeat against qualifier Valentin Vacherot on Saturday as the Serbian missed out on a place in the Shanghai Masters final.
Vacherot, ranked 204th in the world, beat the 24-time Grand Slam winner 6-3 6-4 to become a history-maker in the Chinese city and set-up an unlikely showpiece against another unseeded player – his cousin Arthur Rinderknech.
By denying Djokovic the chance of competing for a record-extending fifth title in Shanghai, the 26-year-old from Monaco becomes the lowest-ranked player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final since the format's introduction in 1990.
“I'm trying to pinch myself, is this real,” said Vacherot, who has only reached the main draw of a Grand Slam once in his career – losing to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round of the 2024 French Open, in his on-court interview. “I know not many of you guys wanted me to win.
“To have Novak on the other side of the court was first of all an invaluable experience for me. I have a hundred feelings right now.”
Djokovic has endured a torrid tournament in the heat and humidity of China's biggest city, struggling with vomiting bouts, leg injury scares and general fatigue.
The 38-year-old needed medical treatment on several occasions in Saturday's semi-final at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena.
Djokovic, seeded fourth, began having issues in his left leg at the start of the seventh game, stopping to stretch multiple times and dropping to the ground at one point.
He had to take an extended medical break, lying on his stomach shirtless as a physio attended to his back.
Djokovic got up but was still uncomfortable, hitting a ball against the wall in frustration after having to shake his leg out again.
He received treatment again at the break, but was clearly still struggling in the second set, in temperatures of 31°C and humidity levels of 62 per cent.
Despite his obvious problems, Djokovic made it clear his opponent deserved all the plaudits after a famous victory. “I want to congratulate Valentin for reaching his first Masters final,” he said.
“Going from qualifications, it's an amazing story. I told him at the net that he's had an amazing tournament, but more so his attitude is very good and his game was amazing as well.
“So it's all about him. I wish him all the best in the finals and the better player won today.”
Vacherot, who ensured he would rise into the top 100 for the first time by defeating Holger Rune in the quarter-finals, will now take on Rinderknech in Sunday's final.
The 30-year-old Frenchman fought back from a set down to beat another former world No 1 in Russia's Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 top set up a clash with his cousin.
“In the best dreams, we couldn't have dreamt about this, so I can't even say it's a dream, because I don't think even one person in our family dreamt about it,” Rinderknech said.
“So it wasn't a dream, it's just a dream that came out of nowhere. We started believing it, I would say, in the quarters, maybe.
“Now we are here, we fought through so many matches and somehow we are the [two] guys standing at the end, so it's just incredible.”
At the Wuhan Open, meanwhile, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka saw her perfect record at the tournament ended as she lost in three sets to Jessica Pegula.
The world No 6 fought back from 2-5 down in the deciding set to seal an epic win bringing Sabalenka's 20-match winning streak to a close.
US Open champion Sabalenka survived two match points to force a tiebreak but ran out of steam, losing the tiebreak 7-2 and the match 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Pegula, who set up an all-American final after Coco Gauff defeated Jasmine Paolini, said: “For what I did In the tiebreak, I'm just really proud of myself.
“I've played so much tennis the last few weeks, so many three-set matches, but I feel like I'm very tough right now and I'm just using that [feeling] as best as I can.
“Playing Coco in a final here would be awesome. We know each other so well – there are no secrets. We know what our game plans are, and it's just going to come down to who can execute it the best.”
Earlier, French Open champion Gauff beat Italy's Paolini 6-4 6-3 earlier – in a match featuring 11 breaks of serve in a row – to reach her third WTA 1000 final of the year.
“I'm really happy with how I played today. It was tough, especially playing on the serve. But I did what I needed to do to get through,” Gauff said.
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
TALE OF THE TAPE
Floyd Mayweather
- Height
- Weight
- Reach
- Record
Conor McGregor
- Height
- Weight
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
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