SHANGHAI — Valentin Vacherot notched the biggest win of his career on Saturday, beating a limping Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Shanghai Masters final, where he will face his cousin.
No. 204 Monaco’s Vacherot was a substitute in qualifying but is having a career-high performance this week.
“Is this true? I don’t know,” Vaccello, 26, said shortly after defeating the 24-time Grand Slam champion. “First of all, having Novak on the other side of the court was an incredible experience for me.”
Well, believe it or not, his next court appearance may be against his cousin, Arthur Rinderknech.
Lindeknych will face 16th seed Daniil Medvedev in the other semifinal on Saturday.
“I’m definitely going to do some recovery, but I’m not going to miss it,” Vaccello said of his cousin’s game.
Djokovic, 38, was slowed throughout the match by hip soreness. After falling behind 4-3 in the first set, he requested a medical timeout. He scored just one point in the next two games.
But the four-time tournament champion made no excuses for his condition.
“It’s all about him,” Djokovic said. “I wish him all the best in the final and the better player wins today.
“It’s an amazing story from the qualification point of view,” Djokovic added. “I told him online that he had a great game, but more importantly his attitude was great and his game was great.”
Vaccello played college tennis at Texas A&M University.
