Valentin Vacherot reaches Shanghai Masters semifinal, Monaco's first

Valentin Vacherot, a 26-year-old qualifier ranked 204, stunned 11th-ranked Holger Rune on Thursday to reach the Shanghai Masters semifinals, defeating the Dane 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. The victory sent Vacherot into the last four of a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career, guaranteed him entry into the ATP top 100 and made him the first player representing Monaco to reach an ATP semifinal.

Vacherot, who entered the tournament as an alternate and progressed through qualifying, overturned a one-set deficit in a contest played in taxing humidity and heat. Rune took the first set convincingly, but Vacherot rallied to win a tight second-set tiebreak and closed out the match after just over two and a half hours, converting his third match point. Both players required on-court treatment; Vacherot battled painful blisters on his right foot while Rune received treatment for cramping late in the match.

"I came as an alternate, I wasn't even sure I would play qualifying," Vacherot said in his on-court interview. "This is just unbelievable. The last win already meant so much to me. This one means even more." He added that he had tried not to focus...