Andy Roddick reveals why Valentin Vacherot should be ‘the inspiration’ for most tennis players
Andy Roddick has hailed surprise Shanghai Masters champion Valentin Vacherot as the “guy to emulate” as he reflected on the Monegasque’s stunning triumph.
One of the biggest and most special tennis stories of the year saw Vacherot defeat cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the Shanghai final, prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 against the Frenchman after an extraordinary run for both.
Ranked 204th in the world, Vacherot was initially only an alternate for the qualifying draw of the tournament, though he eventually came through qualifying to reach the main draw of the Masters 1000 event.
The Monegasque would beat the likes of Alexander Bublik, Holger Rune, and Novak Djokovic on his way to the final before battling past Rinderknech, who himself was a surprise finalist in Shanghai.
Victory for Vacherot made him the lowest-ranked man to ever win a Masters 1000 title, and propelled him inside the top 40 of the ATP Rankings — having never previously cracked the top 100.
However, Vacherot, who turned 27 earlier this month, did not rest on his laurels.
Just over a week after victory in Shanghai, he was in action at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, pushing top seed Taylor Fritz all the way in a hard-fought three-set defeat.
He then received a wildcard into the main draw of the Paris Masters, and again went on another impressive run.
Competing at the final Masters 1000 event of 2025, Vacherot beat 14th seed Jiri Lehecka, Rinderknech, and Cameron Norrie to reach the quarter-final, before exiting to eventual finalist and ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Tennis News
Lorenzo Musetti reveals why ‘role model’ Jannik Sinner could never be his ‘enemy’
Daniil Medvedev reveals why he is ‘glad’ he didn’t win controversial US Open match
Having been ranked outside the top 200 less than two months ago, the 27-year-old is now ranked 31st in the world, and will likely be seeded on his Australian Open main-draw debut next January.
Roddick’s Served podcast recently ranked its top 10 matches of the 2025 season, with Vacherot’s win over Rinderknech ranking eighth in the fan vote.
And, speaking about the match, the former world No 1 heaped praise on Vacherot not only for his triumph, but for his efforts afterwards.
“Most of us, if we suddenly won a million bucks, we’re halfway down a bottle of Maker’s Mark on the flight home,” said Roddick.
“But he goes to Basel, plays Taylor Fritz in the first round, and gives him a real match 7–5 in the third. Then he goes to Paris, beats his cousin again, wins more points, and finally loses to Félix Auger-Aliassime.
“Now he’s going to be seeded in Australia. This is a guy who wasn’t eligible for the previous major’s qualifying. Now he won’t play anyone ranked higher than him until the third round. This is the best of tennis.
“Everyone wants to be Carlos, or Jannik, or Sabalenka — but for a lot of players, Vacherot is the guy to emulate. He’s the inspiration.”
Vacherot’s efforts in recent months have also been recognised by the ATP Tour, with the Monegasque nominated for an official ATP award.
The 27-year-old is one of four nominees for the ATP Breakthrough of the Year, alongside Jack Draper, Joao Fonseca, and Jakub Mensik.
