Qualifier Vacherot stuns Djokovic to reach Shanghai final

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS OF SHANGHAI MEN'S SINGLES SEMI-FINAL BETWEEN NOVAK DJOKOVIC AND VALENTIN VACHEROT RESENDING WITH SHOTLIST AND SCRIPT SHOWS: SHANGHAI, CHINA (OCTOBER 11, 2025) (ATP MEDIA/IMG – see restrictions before use) VALENTIN VACHEROT BEATS NOVAK DJOKOVIC 6-3, 6-4 1. VACHEROT WINS LONG RALLY WITH FOREHAND AT THE NET 2. VACHEROT WINS POINT WITH DROP SHOT/ DJOKOVIC SLIPS AND THEN STRETCHES HIS LEG AFTER GETTING UP 3. MEDICAL STAFF STAND UP/ DJOKOVIC RECEIVING A MEDICAL TIMEOUT 4. VACHEROT WINS LONG RALLY WITH BACKHAND DOWN THE LINE 5. VACHEROT WINS FIRST SET WITH AN ACE 6. DJOKOVIC SAVES MATCH POINT WITH A BACKHAND THAT VACHEROT CAN'T QUITE REACH/ CROWD APPLAUD 7. DJOKOVIC IS UNABLE TO RETURN VACHEROT'S SERVE AND VACHEROT WINS THE MATCH/ PLAYERS SHAKE HANDS AD DJOKOVIC TALKS TO VACHEROT STORY: World number 204 Valentin Vacherot beat a struggling Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4 to reach the Shanghai Masters final on Saturday (October 11), becoming the lowest-ranked player to get to an ATP Masters 1000 final since the series was introduced in 1990. Qualifier Vacherot troubled Djokovic with drop shots and punishing rallies and the Serbian fourth seed, struggling to turn, took medical timeouts during both sets. Djokovic broke Vacherot in the first game of the match, but the 26-year-old immediately broke back and built a 4-3 lead, when the Serbian took his first medical timeout. Vacherot won the next two games with ease to secure the first set, and put Djokovic through a 12-minute battle for the first game of the second set which the 38-year-old managed to win after saving two break points. A double fault led to Djokovic losing his serve as Vacherot took a 5-4 lead that tipped the set in his favour as he became the first player from Monaco to reach an ATP tour final in the open era. (Production: Simon Ormiston)

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