Shanghai champion Valentin Vacherot will play his cousin Arthur Rinderknech for the second time in quick succession after reaching the second round of the Paris Masters.
Vacherot’s stunning run to the Shanghai title earlier this month and his victory over his cousin Rinderknech in the final of the ATP Masters tournament became one of the stories of the season and it will be followed by an immediate sequel in the French capital.
Vacherot and Rinderknech both received wildcards to the Paris Masters following their surprise runs to the Shanghai final, and landed next to each other in the draw. Frenchman Rinderknech defeated Fabian Maroszan 7-6 7-6 on Monday, before Vacherot thrashed the 14th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-1 6-3 on Tuesday to set up the all-cousin rematch. To add to the drama, the winner of Vacherot and Rinderknech’s second meeting could face World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the third round, if the top seed beats Cameron Norrie later this evening.
The 26-year-old Monegasque Vacherot became the lowest-ranked Masters champion in history at 204th in the world when he came through qualifying to beat a string of top players, including Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic, to win his maiden tour title.
Afterwards, Vacherot and Rinderknech shared an emotional embrace, with both players struggling through the prize ceremony as they praised each other and remembered playing against each other as children.
Vacherot achieved a new ranking of 40th in the world, but fell to a first-round defeat in his first match since Shanghai in a tight three-set match against the world No 4 Taylor Fritz in Basel. The American came from behind to end Vacherot’s winning run, 4-6 7-6 7-5. Vacherot is making his main-draw debut in Paris.
The 30-year-old Rinderknech also achieved a new career-high ranking of 27th in the world after reaching his first Masters final, having beaten World No 3 Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev on his way to the final.
