World No.204 Vacherot beats cousin Rinderknech to win Shanghai 'fairytale' | Sports

SHANGHAI, Oct 12, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - World number 204 Valentin Vacherot on Sunday beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech to win the Shanghai Masters 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and become the lowest-ranked champion in the history of ATP 1000 events. The all-family final between the 54th-ranked Frenchman Rinderknech and 204th-ranked Vacherot, from Monaco, is one of the tournament's unlikeliest endings to date -- the latter's coach and half-brother, Benjamin Balleret, described it as a "fairytale". It was just the third ATP Masters 1000 final in history to feature two unseeded players. "I want to thank someone without whom I wouldn't be here -- that person is obviously Arthur," said Vacherot as he accepted his trophy. "It's completely mad, I can't believe it,"...