Okay, he's going to play against Sinner, it's going to be complicated": Vacherot's coach reveals the behind-the-scenes of the feat
Valentin Vacherot made a name for himself with an unbelievable feat in Shanghai.
Recently ranked 204th in the world, the Monegasque player surprised the tennis world by winning the Shanghai Masters 1000. Even better: he beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final, and climbed to 40th place in the ATP rankings.
His coach, Benjamin Balleret, agreed to look back on this unforgettable tournament in an interview relayed by Tennis World Italia:
"We knew he could play good tennis, but obviously what happened in Shanghai was simply unexpected. We couldn't believe he could win this tournament. He was improving match after match. He beat Machac, then he was supposed to face Sinner.
And at that moment, we told ourselves: 'Okay, this is a nice story but now, he's going to play against Sinner and he could get demolished'. Then, finally, Sinner withdrew.
Next, he kept going, then found himself against Djokovic. We told ourselves: 'Incredible. He'll face Djokovic once in his life'. And he ended up winning, against a Djokovic not at 100%, but still a Djokovic.
Finally, we meet Arthur (Rinderknech) in the final. It's like everyone says, it's a movie, a fairy tale. That's what we're feeling right now, a fairy tale.
