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Valentin Vacherot reveals how Roger Federer made life difficult for him during the Shanghai Masters

Originally posted on HITC | By Peter Lynch | Last updated Oct 18, 2025 10:39 AM ET

Valentin Vacherot is still buzzing from his breakthrough win at the Shanghai Masters, where he captured his first ATP title.

Vacherot came from a set down to beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

The win saw him become the first Monegasque player to claim an ATP title in the Open Era and propelled him up to No. 40 in the world rankings.

The 26-year-old jumped an incredible 164 spots to a career-high ranking, while Rinderknech also made strides, climbing 26 places to reach No. 28.

Roger Federer was on hand to see it all unfold in Shanghai, having made an appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 event earlier this month.

Valentin Vacherot admits Federer’s Shanghai appearance had a big impact

Vacherot has since spoken about the experience, appearing on the Nothing Major Show and was asked whether Federer’s presence added pressure or gave him an extra boost.

He responded: “First of all, he was here for five days, the last five days, and I think for the first four days, my girlfriend saw him 15 times, and I saw him nowhere.

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“I couldn’t see him. I was only seeing him far away playing. They made this putt-putt 18-hole next to the player restaurant, and he was playing.

“I wasn’t going to go out there and just shake his hand. Like I was waiting for the moment to just cross him all of a sudden. I could not cross him, and my girlfriend crossed him 15 times.”

“And I was going crazy until the moment I actually walked on court to warm up in the morning against Arthur,” Vacherot continued.

“He came out of the door of the tunnel as I was coming in. And he made an excuse even for himself – ‘Oh finally!’, we talked for 20 seconds just as I started my warm-up.

Valentin Vacherot’s next tournament has a fitting Roger Federer connection

During his playing days, Federer had a knack for unsettling opponents just by being nearby. But Vacherot doesn’t have to worry about that anymore, with the 20-time Grand Slam champion having retired in 2022.

He took in an exhibition while he was there and then relaxed and enjoyed watching the final between Vacherot and Rinderknech, which was an entertaining family affair.

The eventual champion did well to keep his composure throughout the week, especially given everything else going on around him.

He started as a qualifier and managed to knock out big names like Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune along the way.

After their semifinal match, Djokovic stepped back to let Vacherot take the spotlight. Now, with momentum on his side, Vacherot is looking ahead to next week where he’ll try to add a second title to his name.

This time he’ll be playing at the ATP 500 event in Basel – another Federer connection for good measure – as he looks to continue building on this incredible run of form.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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