The story of the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters is fit for a Hollywood script.
Two cousins, Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot, will play for the penultimate ATP Masters 1000 title of the season. After Vacherot stunned record four-time champion Novak Djokovic earlier Saturday, Rinderknech clawed past 2019 Shanghai winner Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to make the final a family affair.
“In the best dreams we couldn’t have dreamed of this, so I can’t even say it’s a dream because I don’t think anyone in our family even dreamed of it,” Rinderknech said. “So it wasn’t a dream, it’s just a dream that came out of nowhere. We started to believe it, I would say, in the quarters, maybe…
“Now we are here, we have fought so many matches and somehow we are the [two] guys who are at the end, so it’s just incredible.
The scene after Medvedev double-faulted to end the match was unforgettable. Rinderknech fell to the pitch in celebration and Vacherot, who returned to center court to watch the end of the match, held his head in shock. Vacherot then walked onto the field for an emotional hug with his cousin.
An ecstatic Rinderknech signed the television camera: “And what now????!!!!”
Is it a family confrontation?
Arthur Rinderknech will compete against cousin Valentin Vacherot in 2025 @SH_RolexMasters definitively!#RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/HwNJF5rb0V
— ATP tour (@atptour) October 11, 2025
The Frenchman became the ninth French player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final. This was the 30-year-old’s first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final and he will now play in his second ATP Tour final after falling short in Adelaide in 2022.
But for a while his intention was to help his cousin more than to reach the final himself. Medvedev, former world number 1, started well and broke his opponent’s serve to love 1-1 in the opening set. The 2019 Shanghai champion looked determined to reach his first Masters 1000 final of the season.
“I lost the first set. Tonight it was very humid again. The last two matches I played during the day, and even though it is a bit warmer, it is a lot drier and tonight it was very humid. The ball was very slow,” said Rinderknech. “I couldn’t finish a point with Daniil and I was pretty much dead after a set and I was like, you know what, maybe I’m going to lose, but I’m going to fight like crazy, so I’m going to tire him out for tomorrow and I’m going to at least help Val to try to start the match a little bit physically ahead.”
The 30-year-old took a 2-0 lead in the second set after a timely drop shot and suddenly the battle was on. According to Infosys ATP Stats, Rinderknech saved all nine break points in the final two sets to turn the match in his favor.
The Frenchman was particularly brave at 3-3 in the deciding set and saved two break points with thundering serves along the T in the Ad court. Rinderknech then held at love at 4-4 to position himself for the biggest win of his career, and he was able to convert.
Medvedev saved one match point with a daring serve, but was double-faulted when he tried to score another big serve on the second match point he faced. Rinderknech is ranked No. 28 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will climb to No. 22 when he lifts the trophy on Sunday.
Whatever happens, it’s safe to say that neither Rinderknech nor Vacherot will ever forget their championship match. The cousins played college tennis together at Texas A&M University and now they meet for one of the biggest titles in sports.
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