Shanghai
Rinderknech upsets Medvedev to set final against cousin Vacherot, turning Shanghai into Hollywood
Frenchman into first ATP Masters 1000 final
October 11, 2025
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech embrace after Rinderknech’s three-set win against Daniil Medvedev Saturday in the Shanghai semi-finals.
By ATP Staff
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 dreamt about this, so I can’t even say it’s a dream, because I don’t think even one person in our family dreamt about it,” Rinderknech said. “So it wasn’t a dream, it’s just a dream that came out of nowhere. We started believing it, I would say, in the quarters, maybe…
“Now we are here, we fought through so many matches and somehow we are the [two] guys standing at the end, so it’s just incredible.”
The scene after Medvedev hit a double fault to end the match was unforgettable. Rinderknech fell to the court in celebration and Vacherot, who returned to centre court to watch the end of the match, held his head in shock. Vacherot then walked on court for an emotional hug with his cousin.
An ecstatic Rinderknech signed the television camera: “And now what???!!!!”
It’s a family showdown 🙌
Arthur Rinderknech faces cousin Valentin Vacherot in the 2025 @SH_RolexMasters final!#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 mindset was to help his cousin moreso than to reach the final himself. Former World No. 1 Medvedev started well, breaking his opponent’s serve to love at 1-1 in the opening set. The 2019 Shanghai champion seemed determined to make his first Masters 1000 final of the season.
“I lost the first set. It was really humid again tonight. I played the last two matches during the day, and even if it’s a bit hotter, it’s a lot drier, and tonight was really humid. The ball was really slow,” Rinderknech said. “I couldn’t finish a point with Daniil and I was pretty much just 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 make him tired for tomorrow and at least I’m going to help Val to try to start the match a little bit ahead physically, at least.”
The 30-year-old took a 2-0 lead in the second set behind a timely drop shot and suddenly the battle was on. According to Infosys ATP Stats, Rinderknech saved all nine break points across the final two sets to turn the match in his favour.
The Frenchman was particularly courageous at 3-3 in the deciding set, saving two break points with booming serves down the T in the Ad court. Rinderknech then held to 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 double-faulted trying for another big serve on the second match point he faced. Rinderknech is up to No. 28 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will climb to No. 22 if he lifts the trophy Sunday.
No matter what happens, it is safe to say Rinderknech nor Vacherot will ever forget their championship clash. The cousins played college tennis together at Texas A&M University and now they will meet for one of the biggest titles in the sport.
