Novak Djokovic, who beat Belgium's Zizou in a straight sets 6-3 7-5 victory on Thursday, has discovered his opponent ahead of Saturday's semi-final at the Shanghai Masters.
Djokovic, who reached an 80th career ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, extending his record for the most of any player since the format’s introduction in 1990, will face Valentin Vacherot in the next round.
Vacherot continued his remarkable run at the 2025 Shanghai Masters on Thursday, producing another unforgettable performance, as he progressed to the semi-finals of the tournament, where he will meet the world number five.
The Monegasque qualifier battled past 10th seed Holger Rune with a 2–6 7–6(4) 6–4 victory in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in China.
After a slow start, the world number 204 held his nerve in a tight second set and then overpowered the Dane in the decider, becoming the second-lowest-ranked player ever to reach a Masters 1000 semi-final since 1990 — behind only Chris Woodruff, who achieved the feat as world number 550 at Indian Wells in 1999.
The nearly three-hour triumph also guarantees that the 26-year-old will break into the world’s Top 100 for the first time, climbing 112 places to number 92 in the live PIF ATP Rankings.
“I didn’t come as a qualifier, I came as an alternate. I wasn’t even sure I was going to play qualifying,” said Vacherot.
“This is just unbelievable. The last win meant already so much to me. This one means even more.
“It was tough not to think about it on match point, also breaking the Top 100. I know this is just a step, but I tried not to look at the rankings for this whole tournament. I had read that if I won, I would break the Top 100, but this is just unbelievable for me. I cannot wait for [the semi-final]. I’m just so happy and living the dream.”
Vacherot will face Djokovic, who will be competing in his 80th ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals, and is just the third player since 1990 to have reached 50+. along with Rafael Nadal (76) and Roger Federer (66).
