Rinderknech, in the Semifinals Like Vacherot in Shanghai: "The Story is Exceptional, It Will Probably Never Happen Again"

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Adrien Guyot

le 10/10/2025 à 12h37

2 min to read

Auger-Aliassime Rinderknech Shanghai Vacherot

Arthur Rinderknech delivered a very high-quality match against Félix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals in Shanghai.

Rinderknech is in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters 1000. After his victories against Medjedovic, Michelsen, Zverev, and Lehecka, the Frenchman, ranked 54th before the tournament, continued his run by defeating Félix Auger-Aliassime (6-3, 6-4), whom he had never beaten before.

For a spot in the final, he will face either Alex De Minaur or Daniil Medvedev, who are playing in the last quarterfinal of the day. After his win, the 30-year-old player reflected on the incredible fairy tale he is experiencing with his cousin Valentin Vacherot, who also qualified for the semifinals.

"The story is exceptional. It will probably never happen again, but we will have lived it once, and we can tell it to our children and grandchildren. We are both extremely proud to give this experience to our family.

Proud for us, for our teams who support and help us all year round. And for all those, too, whom we know less but who are there and cheer us on. I knew what I had to do and had a good idea of what Félix (Auger-Aliassime) was going to try to do.

That was the case at the beginning of the match, that's what I felt. The emotions—I had so many watching Valentin (Vacherot) in his box, hoping he would win... I was so stressed! I'm not used to being in another player's box, watching someone play and desperately wanting them to win, and honestly, it was hard to handle.

I felt like I was at my lowest a few months ago. As they say in France and Brittany, after the rain comes the sunshine. Well, right now, there's a lot of sunshine, a nice high-pressure system. I'm enjoying it.

I know there will be tougher weeks in the future, but it's up to me to learn from what I experienced at the beginning of the year, from what happened to overcome all that, to be better in the future at managing mental factors.

I'm lucky to be well supported for the past few months, I've adjusted some things, I have a team very close to me who encourages me. Lucas (Pouille), my wife, my physio, and my fitness trainer aren't here, but I have a great friend with me. We're together trying to go further," Rinderknech stated in recent hours to the media outlet L'Équipe.