Qualifier Vacherot ousts ailing Djokovic, sets up Shanghai final against cousin Rinderknech

An ailing Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the semifinals at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday by Monaco's World No. 204 Valentin Vacherot, who will face his French cousin Arthur Rinderknech in a surprise family final.

Vacherot, a 26-year-old qualifier, stunned Serbia's Djokovic 6-3, 6-4, denying the former World No. 1 a chance at a record-extending fifth title in Shanghai.

He will next face his cousin, the unseeded Rinderknech, who battled back from a set down to oust Russia's Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

"I'm trying to pinch myself, is this real," said Vacherot after the biggest win of his career. "I'm really, really proud of how I managed this match mentally, and to not focus too much about the fact that it was Novak on the other side of the net."

Vacherot is the lowest-ranked player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final.

The 38-year-old Djokovic struggled physically throughout the match, vomiting on the side of the court and receiving medical treatment multiple times.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion described Vacherot's unlikely run in the tournament as "an amazing story." "It's all about him," noted Djokovic. "The better player won today."

Rinderknech had a tougher path to the final as he took on Medvedev, another former World No. 1.

The Russian broke in the third game, and saved a break point in the eighth, on his way to taking the first set.

The 54th-ranked Frenchman came out fighting in the second, breaking in the second game and then fending off five break points in the third, which lasted nearly 17 minutes.

Medvedev kept pushing, forcing his 30-year-old opponent to stave off another break in an 11-minute fifth game. But Rinderknech broke again in the eighth game to send the match into a decider.

The man from France had another close call in the seventh game of the third set, clawing back from the brink twice, both times with an ace. In the end the 29-year-old Medvedev, facing match point, double-faulted to concede the contest.

Rinderknech dropped to the ground in disbelief and performed a somersault as his cousin rushed onto the court to hug him. He said he was living "the dream undreamable."

"I just couldn't go past Medvedev ... I was like, okay, I'm just going to fight, try to make him tired at least for Valentin tomorrow ... Then somehow I broke him," he said.

Medvedev lamented that it was a close match, but Rinderknech "served very well in important moments that made the difference." The 2021 US Open winner then added, "He deserves to be in the final."