Two points. That is the only thing that separated Valentin Vacherot from the exit in qualifying for the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
The world has marveled at the Monagesque player’s history in China, where Vacherot, then No. 204 in the PIF ATP Rankings, became the lowest-ranked champion in ATP Masters 1000 history. But how close was he to falling short of the main event?
The 26-year-old has spoken a lot about the need for withdrawals to get into the tournament’s qualifying field. But what happened in the second qualifying round against Liam Draxl?
According to the Canadian, the former Texas A&M University standout barely survived their encounter and made a valiant effort to save what turned into a dream tournament.
“I was pretty close to getting him to the edge. It was five-all in the tie-break and he actually hit a winner on the first-serve return,” Draxl told ATPTour.com. “I served and volleyed and he just hit a corner winner down the court. Then he hit a big serve and got the breaker.
“I actually had a break point in the third as well, at 4-3, and he hit a huge serve, like 140 miles per hour wide. So that was tough for me too, but I knew it was a really high level match.”
According to Infosys ATP Stats, there were only five points separating the pair in two hours and 48 minutes. Vacherot saved two of the four break points he faced, which proved crucial to reaching the main draw.
“I thought to myself, ‘Yeah, he could probably win some rounds in the main event,’” Draxl said. “I thought it was just a super high-level match. But for him to win this is unbelievable. Literally unbelievable.”
Draxl summed up what happened next: “Crazy run for Val.”
However, no thought was given to what it could have been. Instead, Draxl was happy for someone he knew from college tennis. Draxl played for the University of Kentucky, while Vacherot competed for Southeastern Conference rival Texas A&M.
“It’s great to see college tennis people doing well, and especially the SEC doing well. It was always such fierce competition within our conference during the college years,” said Draxl, ranked No. 118 in the world. [Shelton] and so many other boys, [Adam] Walton. It really was such a stacked conference and so much good competition.
“I loved those days and it’s great to see all these guys in there [the Top] 100 and doing great things. It gives me more confidence that I can hopefully follow this example and quickly reach those hundred points.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
#Vacherot #close #defeat #qualifying #Shanghai.. #Literally #unbelievable