SHANGHAI, CHINA - OCTOBER 11: Arthur Rinderknech of France celebrate with Valentin Vacherot of Monaco after winning against Daniil Medvedev after the Men's singles Semifinals on day 13 of the 2025 Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qi Zhong Tennis Center on October 11, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
WhatsApp messages from family members are pouring in for Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot. That’s because the two are cousins – they went head-to-head in the Shanghai Masters finals.
Both Rinderknech and Vacherot won their respective quarterfinal matchups, advancing to the semi-finals, where the former beat Daniil Medvedev and the latter knocked off Novak Djokovic.
“First of all, I followed my cousin,” Rinderknech said after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday. “He was going through the emotions on Thursday, and I am trying to follow and battle and do the same as him. It has been incredible since the start of the tournament.”
A day earlier, Vacherot upset No. 10 Holger Rune, setting up Saturday’s duel against Djokovic. The Monaco native became the lowest-ranked player to play in an ATP 1000 semi-final since 1999.
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“This is just unbelievable,” Vacherot said after the quarter-final win. “I didn’t come as a qualifier; I came as an alternate. I wasn’t even sure I was going to play qualifying.”
“The whole family is following from home,” Rinderknech said on Friday. “We are in our little world here.”
In the end, Vacherot beat his cousin 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
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