Qualifier Valentin Vacherot has stunned world number 11 Holger Rune to reach the Shanghai Masters semi-finals.
Vacherot, ranked 204 in the world, is the second-lowest ranked player to reach a Masters 1000 semi-final.
The qualifier, who has now beaten four seeded players in Shanghai, fought from a set down to defeat Rune 2-6, 7-6, 6-4.
This was a missed opportunity for Rune, but an astounding result for Vacherot, who is now guaranteed to enter the ATP top 100 for the first time.
By defeating Rune, the Monegasque star contributed to achieving something for only the second time in tennis history.
Valentin Vacherot and Terence Atmane make history
Around two months ago, world number 136 Terence Atmane stunned his peers by reaching the Cincinnati Open semi-finals.
Atmane, a qualifier, defeated Flavio Cobolli, Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune before losing his last four match to then-world number one Jannik Sinner.
Valentin Vacherot has now emulated Atmane’s feat, creating history in the process.
As per OptaAce, since 1990, qualifiers [Terence Atmane and Valentin Vacherot] have made the semi-final at consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events for just the second time, after Hamburg and Toronto in 2000.
In 2000, Andrei Pavel reached the Hamburg Open semi-finals, before Harel Levy made the Toronto Open semi-finals while ranked 144th on the ATP Tour.
In the Shanghai Masters semi-finals, Vacherot will face either Zizou Bergs or 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
Will Arthur Rinderknech join Vacherot in the semi-finals?
Arthur Rinderknech, the cousin of Valentin Vacherot, has also reached the latter rounds in Shanghai.
The Frenchman has enjoyed a break-out season on the ATP Tour, most recently stunning Alexander Zverev in Shanghai.
In the quarter-finals, Rinderknech faces Canadian 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who could be a future challenger to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
The pair have faced off twice before, both times in 2025. Auger-Aliassime won both contests, in Mallorca and Cincinnati.
