History in Shanghai! Little-known underdog wins ATP Masters 1000 title

Men's tennis is rapidly changing, and today, we got another proof of it. In the most glorious era of this sport, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer ("The Big Three") dominated tennis and allowed few surprises.

Nowadays, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz rule "the sport of kings," but miracles still can happen occasionally. One such happened in Shanghai, where history was written.

ATP world #204, Valentin Vacherot, stunned the entire tennis world, winning the ATP Masters 1000 title!

The Monegasque became the lowest-ranked player ever to win the tournament of this rank and the third qualifier with such success. Moreover, he became the fifth player in history to win his maiden title at a Masters tournament.

At the same time, he emerged victorious in six out of nine matches he won in Shanghai (including qualifiers), after losing the first set, while all the players he beat were better-ranked than him!

In the qualifiers, Vacherot beat ATP world #113, Nishesh Basavareddy from the USA and Canadian Liam Draxl (#119), before running riots in the main draw.

Victories came one after another, and the rivals were stronger, better, and more renowned. From the opening round to the quarter-finals, the 26-year-old brushed aside Laslo Djere (#82), Alexander Bublik (#17), Tomas Machac (#23), Tallon Griekspor (#31), and Holger Rune (#11).

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In the semis, Vacherot shocked everyone, beating arguably the tennis GOAT Novak Djokovic in straight sets, before coming from behind against ATP world #54 Arthur Rinderknech in one of the "weakest" Masters finals, based on the finalists' rankings.

Thanks to this unbelievable triumph, Vacherot will join the top 100 players on the ATP list, while his bank account will grow by $1,124,380.