At 38, what he's achieving is incredible": Vacherot's respectful reaction after beating Djokovic

After an unexpected duel, Valentin Vacherot defeated the Serbian legend and praised the champion's longevity. The new hero of Shanghai reveals the behind-the-scenes of a match where he had to "chase away thoughts" to stay standing against the myth.

The Shanghai Masters 1000 will likely remain one of the most memorable tournaments of the 2025 season. Between grueling playing conditions, surprises, and early eliminations of favorites, the draw opened up as the rounds progressed.

Valentin Vacherot, who was qualified and ranked 204th in the ATP before the start of the event, and Arthur Rinderknech took advantage to raise their level of play and reach the final. The two cousins will face off in a match as symbolic as it is unexpected.

Having defeated the legend Novak Djokovic on his side, Vacherot shared his feelings in a press conference about facing the last active member of the Big 3:

"I didn't have the opportunity to play Federer and Nadal because my ranking was too low. They retired before I started playing in the same tournaments as them. Playing against Djokovic once is something incredible.

I'm surprised by how I mentally handled this match. He immediately broke my serve and played as I had imagined. I'm happy to have broken back quickly.

Then it became a battle. We all know he's 38. What he's achieving at that age is already incredible, it's tough on the body.

I had to stay mentally focused. I had a lot of thoughts in my head, especially after winning the first set. Every time I had thoughts crossing my mind, I focused on the next return or the next serve I had to execute."

The Monegasque player also discussed his new status on the tour, as he will be at worst world No. 58 on Monday:

"I registered the day before the qualifiers. I might have imagined I could do well here, but not this well obviously. I would have been satisfied if I won a few matches. I was simply thinking about making it into the top 100 before the end of the season.

I would have been content with finishing 99th or 100th. Now that I'm at least 58th... I haven't had time to process it, but it's a good thing. It will allow me to play the biggest tournaments, so I'm happy about that.