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.
