"I'm going to take my chance...": Vacherot's visionary message before his magical Shanghai run

"I'm going to take my chance." In just a few words, Valentin Vacherot seemed to have foreseen what was to come: a magical journey, from the qualifiers to the final of the Shanghai Masters 1000. The story of a dream come true.

In just a few days, Valentin Vacherot created a sensation in Shanghai, reaching the final of the Masters 1000 while ranked 204th and coming through the qualifiers.

Facing his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final this Sunday, the Monegasque player is already guaranteed to break into the top 100, virtually ranked 58th.

Defeated in mid-September by Robin Bertrand (301st) in Saint-Tropez, Vacherot never stopped believing in his chances, as shown in this message he sent to one of his friends six weeks ago:

"I'm going to try my luck in the Shanghai qualifiers because an incredible run can happen at any time."

Fate proved favorable to the 26-year-old player, who is now living a waking dream in the Chinese city.