Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech has once again lost to his cousin Valentin Vacherot, this time at the Paris Masters.
On October 12, Rinderknech and Vacherot contested one of the most iconic finals in tennis history at the Shanghai Masters.
Vacherot, then ranked 204th in the world, emerged the victor, becoming the lowest-ranked qualifier to win a Masters 1000 title in history.
On Wednesday, the pair met again at the Paris Masters. Vacherot defeated Rinderknech again, eventually winning the contest 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 at the Paris La Défense Arena.
Vacherot will face Cameron Norrie in the third round, after the British number one defeated Carlos Alcaraz.
As for Rinderknech, he sought to explain the reason for the loss during his post-match press conference.
Arthur Rinderknech says ‘I didn’t go for my shots enough’
During the third and final set against Vacherot, Rinderknech found himself in a 1-3 hole. However, he fought back to level at 3-3 and appeared to have all the momentum.
However, the Frenchman was unable to capitalise, eventually losing the set 6-4.
During the Frenchman’s post-match press conference, one reporter posed this question: “During the last set, at the beginning of the third set, we felt you had the weapons to overplay him. Why didn’t it work?”
Rinderknech replied: “Well, for the same reason that I couldn’t win the match and Val won the match.
“There was one or two points where I lacked offensiveness. I didn’t go for my shots enough. I was clumsy. I should have gone for my shots more.
“There were some winners missed on my side, and there are some wonderful points where he has lets and framed shots and wins the break point.
“Maybe if we do the match again, he could have returned the ball in the stand, and I could have broken him, and I would have won 6-4, and it would have been a totally different match.
“That’s what tennis is all about. He plays extremely well if you just look at the results and the players that he defeats. We played an incredible match. It was very enjoyable.
“I put up an ultimate fight from the beginning to the end with everything I had. It didn’t work for me.
I also have confidence, but he’s also riding a wonderful momentum, and he deserves it.
“He’s riding a strong momentum. He’s on a good streak, and he went for his shots. He was offensive, and it suited him well. Maybe it suited him better than for me, actually. And this is how he won.”
Arthur Rinderknech comments on the prospect of being French number one
During the same press conference, Rinderknech was asked about the importance of ending 2025 as France’s number one player.
Currently, Rinderknech is the French number two behind Ugo Humbert. However, as per the ATP live rankings, Humbert is set to fall 14 places to world number 36 following his withdrawal from the Paris Masters.
He replied: “It’s extremely important. Well, let’s not say “important” but rather that it’s a great pride for me. I don’t want to talk about the past really, but when we look back five, six months back, and I look at my tennis with some hindsight, mentally speaking, it’s a great source of pride and joy.
“As for this loss, I don’t want to overthink about this. I don’t want this conference to last forever, but there’s a lot of positive points, and I will rejoice in this. I’m really lucky to have a great team around me.
“There’s the Davis Cup coming up. I was selected by Paulo, I’m lucky. And I really want to do well with the team and to place France where it should be in the ranking.
“Besides that, on a personal note, I will be proud to end up number one Frenchman. If it’s not the case, it isn’t that much of a matter anyway.”
As Rinderknech noted, the Davis Cup Finals are right around the corner. The French team consists of Rinderknech, Benjamin Bonzi, Pierre Hughes-Herbert and Ugo Humbert, whose participation may have been jeopardised following his withdrawal from Paris.
France will compete for the title along with Italy, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany and Spain.
The French team faces Belgium in the first round, who are led by Zizou Bergs and Raphael Collignon.
The Finals will take place from November 18 to 23 in Bologna, Italy.
