Valentin Vacherot is the new ATP Tour superstar after winning the Shanghai Masters title.
Ranked 204 in the world, Vacherot was a firm outsider for the title. However, he proved his worth in China, becoming only the third qualifier to win a Masters 1000 title.
The Monegasque star defeated four elite players on his way to the title: Alexander Bublik, Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic – who described Vacherot’s level of play as ‘extraordinary.’
Following his victory against Arthur Rinderknech in the final, Vacherot earned £824,000 – over double his previous career earnings.
The 26-year-old has since revealed what he plans to do with his new fortune.
Valentin Vacherot plans to fly his parents to the Australian Open
Speaking to the Tennis Channel on Wednesday, Vacherot revealed plans to bring his parents to the Australian Open in January.
The interviewer asked: “I know it’s not all about the money, but obviously it’s huge as far as reinvesting in your career and your schedule coming up.
“How does it feel that you’re going to get that influx of cash? And have you been checking the bank account to see if it came in yet?”
Vacherot responded: “To be honest, it’s more about people reminding me about the prize money because this is the last thing I’ll actually think about, to be honest.”
“It’s pretty crazy to think, but I forget about it sometimes. But no, I already told my parents, like it’s now or never, ‘I’m booking you flights to Melbourne, you guys coming with me.’
“It’s all about just investing into… taking people with me to tournaments. Of course, help my coaches a bit more, and coming back from Shanghai was only the second time in my life flying business so that felt pretty good also.
“But the long haul, make them business first. Yeah, it’s just going to be all about investing in my career because basically a second career is starting for me.”
Vacherot set to move up the rankings despite not playing
Vacherot is not competing in any of the ATP tournaments taking place this week. Despite this, he is currently set to move up the rankings.
This is because both Zizou Bergs and Gabriel Diallo have lost ATP points this week.
Diallo lost in the Almaty Open round of 16 and has subsequently surrendered 140 ATP points.
Meanwhile, Bergs lost in the European Open [Brussels Open] round of 32 to Raphael Collignon. The Belgian is now set to lose 25 ATP points.
| Name | Prospective Ranking | Prospective ATP Points |
| Valentin Vacherot | 38 | 1,283 |
| Zizou Bergs | 39 | 1,274 |
| Corentin Moutet | 40 | 1,268 |
| Gabriel Diallo | 41 | 1,228 |
As a result, Vacherot is set to move up two places in the rankings to world number 38. However, his prospective ranking may change depending on future results this week.
