The Rolex Shanghai Masters is shaping up to be a family affair, with a pair of cousins reaching the semi-finals of the penultimate ATP 1000 event of the season.
It’s huge. First of all, I followed my cousin. He was going through the emotions on Thursday, and I’m trying to follow and fight and do the same as him. It’s been incredible since the tournament started. Arthur Rinderknech
Yesterday, Monaco qualifier Valentin Vacherot upset 10th seed Holger Rune to secure the best win of his career and now Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, his cousin, has reached the last four by ending Felix Auger Aliassime, the twelfth seed’s hope for what is his own ‘best win of his career’.
And that’s quite a statement considering he defeated world number 3 Alexander Zverev in the third round and 15th seed Jiri Lehecka in the next and now Auger Aliassime 6-3 6-4 in his own ‘dream run’.
After his victory, Rinderknech raised his arms and looked at his cousin Vacherot, who supported him from the stands.
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“The whole family is watching from home. We’re in our own little world here. It was incredible and today was a good performance from myself and I’m glad it was straight sets, so I’m not too tired for tomorrow.”
And as he joined his cousin in the final four, he later added: “I was so stressed the whole game yesterday.
“I’m not used to seeing guys play on the court and I wanted him to win so bad. I was so stressed, but I didn’t want to show anything. I didn’t want to put pressure on him. Today it was a lot calmer for me on the court.”
Vacherot, who was in the Rinderknech guest box, said afterwards: “It’s really nice that it’s happening here. Yesterday I thought it would have been special to maybe be a little closer to home, so maybe a family would have to come or something. But I think we’re just in our little bubble here, with my brother, my coach, who also helps Arthur, my girlfriend, a little bit. There’s just not a lot of us, and I think we’re in our little bubble sit and do our thing. So I’m really happy that it’s happening here, and we’re all having a lot of fun with it.”
Rinderknech’s victory lasted just 87 minutes and was secured on his second match point after an aggressive performance with excellent ball striking. In addition, he converted two break points, one in each set, and saved the three break chances the Canadian had created.
The 30-year-old is the third Frenchman to reach the semi-finals in Shanghai, joining Jo-Wilfrid Tsonga (2013, ’15) and Gilles Simon (2014, ’16).
Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime leaves Shanghai in 10th place in the Live Race To Turin stakes. The 25-year-old is 530 points behind eighth-ranked Lorenzo Musetti, who occupies the final qualifying spot for next month’s ATP Finals extravaganza.
The question now is whether the cousins can get past their semi-final opponents and meet in the Shanghai Final. Vacherot will face Novak Djokovic on Saturday, while Rinderknech will face Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Alex de Minuar in the last quarter-final.
Daniil Medvedev storms to the semi-finals
(Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Medvedev, the 2019 Shanghai champion, scored a 6-4 6-4 victory over the Australian to reach his second Masters semi-final of the season.
In what turned out to be a very physical match, with several rallies going past 32 shots, Medvedev just managed to beat the Demon runaway.
The 29-year-old Russian hit 11 more winners than the Australian (27-16), made two fewer unforced errors (25-27) and won 15 of his 16 first-serve points in the second set to advance after one hour and 53 minutes.
“I was super tired and I knew that against Alex, just like against Learner, we would have long points. I think we had a few in the third or fourth game and I thought it would be a long day, but I am happy with the way I played,” Medvedev said after securing his eighth win over the Aussie in 12 meetings.
“I really had a grip on the important moments and hit the ball great and put pressure on him. The second set was tight, but at the end I found the best. I am very happy with the level.”
Medvedev, holder of 20 titles, hopes to further expand this tally, which has been stuck at that number since May 2023. He almost improved his tally when he reached the last four in Indian Wells, but lost to Holger Rune.
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