Imagine being two points away from a career-defining moment completely vanishing. That's how close Valentin Vacherot was to not becoming the lowest-ranked champion in ATP Masters 1000 history at the Shanghai Masters. It's a story of near-misses, incredible resilience, and a little bit of luck.
We all know Vacherot's stunning victory in Shanghai, a true underdog story for the ages. But few realize just how precarious his journey was right from the start. He wasn't just some dark horse who suddenly found his form; he was practically out of the race before it even began!
Let's rewind to the qualifying rounds of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Vacherot, ranked No. 204 at the time, needed withdrawals just to get into the qualifying field. He himself admitted that! But the real drama unfolded in his second-round match against Canadian player Liam Draxl.
Draxl, who knows Vacherot well from their college tennis days, provides some fascinating insight. According to Draxl, Vacherot was on the ropes, just a hair's breadth from defeat. "I was pretty close to getting him on the brink there," Draxl revealed to ATPTour.com. "It was five-all in the tie-break and he actually hit a first-serve return winner. I served and volleyed and he hit just a cross-court angle winner. Then he hit a big serve and got the breaker."
Think about that for a second. A single point, a moment of brilliance, separated Vacherot from potential obscurity. But here's where it gets controversial... Some might argue that luck played a significant role. After all, a return winner can be a combination of skill and chance. Was it pure talent, or did the tennis gods intervene?
Draxl continued, "I actually had break point in the third too, at 4-3, and he hit a huge serve, like 225 kilometres an hour out wide. So that was tough on my end too, but I knew it was a really high-level match.”
The stats back up Draxl's assessment. Over nearly three hours of grueling tennis, only five points separated the two players. Vacherot saved two crucial break points, a testament to his mental fortitude under immense pressure. And this is the part most people miss... it wasn't just about powerful serves or flashy shots. It was about digging deep, finding that extra gear when everything was on the line.
"I thought to myself, ‘Yeah, he probably could win some rounds in the main draw’,” Draxl admitted. “I thought it was just a super high-level match out there. But for him to win it, it's unbelievable. Literally unbelievable." Draxl, despite the loss, recognized the quality of Vacherot's game.
Draxl, currently ranked World No. 118, also offers a unique perspective on the rise of college tennis players on the professional circuit. Both he and Vacherot honed their skills in the highly competitive Southeastern Conference (SEC), Draxl playing for the University of Kentucky and Vacherot representing Texas A&M. "It's great to see college tennis people doing well and particularly the SEC doing well," Draxl said. "Playing Val so many times — having battles with him in college so many times — with Ben [Shelton] and so many other guys… It was really such a stacked conference and so much good competition." This highlights a growing trend: college tennis is becoming an increasingly viable pathway to professional success.
Draxl's final thoughts? "Crazy run for Val." A simple, yet powerful summary of an improbable triumph.
But let's not forget the key takeaway: Valentin Vacherot's historic victory was built on a foundation of razor-thin margins. It serves as a reminder that in tennis, and in life, sometimes all it takes is a single point, a moment of courage, to change everything.
What do you think? Was Vacherot's Shanghai victory a testament to pure skill, or did luck play a significant role? And how much credit should college tennis get for preparing players for the professional circuit? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
