Vacherot - from victory over Ly Hoang Nam to Masters championship

Three years ago at the ATP Challenger Bangkok Open in Thailand, two players were faced with the opportunity to step out of their career comfort zone. Ly Hoang Nam and Vacherot both reached the final of a Challenger 50 tournament for the first time, after many years of struggling to accumulate points at professional ITF Men's World Tennis tournaments.

Ly Hoang Nam was then ranked 328th on the ATP table, 16 places above Vacherot. However, the tennis player born in 1997 could not become the first Vietnamese to win a Challenger tournament, losing to his Monaco opponent 3-6, 6-7. For Hoang Nam, failure may not have much impact on his career, as he still managed to enter the top 300 in the world. But for Vacherot, the title in Bangkok was more than just a championship.

"That championship changed my mind about Vacherot ", recalled Benjamin Balleret, coach and half-brother of Vacherot. "She wanted to become a professional tennis player, but before that I thought she was not mature enough both mentally and physically. Physically, she had the advantage of being 1.93 m tall, but was too skinny. Even if I helped, it would still take many years to be qualified enough to enter the top 100 or top 50. "

Balleret and Vacherot had many years ago gone through an arduous, slow journey in small tournaments, with trips the going is long and the victories come in trickles. "Sometimes you lose a little faith, there are very unpleasant failures ", Balleret added. "It's emotionally difficult because this is not simply a player you coach, but also your younger brother ".

Monaco, a small country of just over 30,000 people, is perhaps more famous for its flashy F1 racing than for producing the world's top tennis players. After 18 years, this country has only had a player win a Challenger tournament, since Jean-Rene Lisnard in 2004. The championship in Thailand caused Vacherot to receive more attention and investment. A year later, he received a special ticket to attend the Monte Carlo Masters in his hometown, but lost to Luca Nardi in the first round.

Before coming to the Shanghai Masters, all of Vacherot's ATP 1000 appearances were in Monte Carlo, where he received a special ticket from the Monaco Tennis Federation. Thanks to experience in the big arena, Vacherot became stronger, then qualified for Roland Garros to become the first Monaco player to participate in the singles event at the Grand Slam in 2024.

Vacherot was once close to the top 100 in the world, but then injuries pushed him back out of the top 200. In the middle of this year, Vacherot told his girlfriend Emily Snyder that the goal of top 100 by the end of the year was too far away. But Snyder, who accompanies Vacherot at almost every big and small tournament, responded that she believes he can do it.

The goal gets farther and farther away as 2025 moves towards the end. They arrived in Shanghai ranked 204th in the world, nine places short of qualifying for the Shanghai Masters qualifying round. But Vacherot and the whole team still flew to China in the hope that nine players would withdraw.

"I knew I could participate in the qualifying round, because this was the last Masters 1000 of the year, many injured people would withdraw", Vacherot recounted. "I told myself that if I couldn't participate, at least I would have gone to China early to adapt and prepare for the next 5 Challenger tournaments. But in the end, I don't need those tournaments anymore, after this tournament I will go home ".

Even when he had a chance in qualifying, Vacherot almost missed it. In both matches with Nishesh Basavareddy and Liam Draxl, he lost the first set. Even in the final qualifying round with Draxl, Vacherot was only two points away from defeat.

After that, Vacherot entered the main round, defeating Laslo Djere, Alexander Bublik, Tomas Machac and Tallon Griekspoor one after another to become the first person representing Monaco to reach the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 tournament. At this time, not only his family, but also the people of Monaco could no longer sit still.

Mrs. Melanie-Antoinette de Massy, President of the Monaco Tennis Federation, arrived in Shanghai on Friday afternoon after a 20-hour flight with Monte Carlo Masters Director David Massey. They did not have time to watch Vacherot come from behind to defeat No. 10 seed Holger Rune in the quarterfinals, but witnessed the young countryman defeat the legendary Novak Djokovic, who holds the record of winning four times in Shanghai.

24 hours later, Monaco tennis leaders continued to see a historic moment when the 26-year-old tennis player defeated his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final, becoming the first player from the principality in the Open Era to win. won the ATP Tour singles title.

"The whole country is extremely proud of him, and there are really no words to describe this feeling, " Ms. de Massy said. "He played wonderfully. So happy to be here, to live in this moment with him, and to witness this historic final. " Crown Prince Albert II of Monaco, a great tennis lover, closely followed Vacherot's historic journey in Shanghai and kept texting Mrs. de Massy before and during the final. At the Monte Carlo Country Club tennis club, a live match viewing session was held with the participation of many members and top young Monaco players. The main square in Monaco also shows the match live at 10:30 a.m. on a large screen, organized by City Hall, similar to the way they often do with F1 races in Monte Carlo. The first time a tennis event was "taken over" here.

Vacherot received $1.1 million for the championship in Shanghai, nearly double what he had accumulated since the beginning of his career. But for the 26-year-old tennis player, the most important thing to gain is not the prize money, but the meaning of the achievement to the small country of Monaco - the place that gave him his career.

Immediately after the match, Vacherot put the Monaco flag on his shoulders before entering the awards ceremony. "To hold the flag and make my country proud is my dream, " Vacherot said after the final match on Central Court at the Qizhong Forest complex on October 12. "I think of our little Federation, one of the smallest in the world. We don't have a lot of players, but now we have a Masters 1000 singles title, two Masters 1000 doubles titles with Hugo Nys, and also a Grand Slam final for Hugo at the Australian Open two years ago. What we achieved for Monaco was unbelievable. I will definitely keep trying ".

Hugo Nys, number 19 in men's doubles in the world, or Romain Arneodo (number 45) both made history for Monaco when winning the men's doubles championship at the Masters. But Vacherot wrote a new page in tennis history in this country, being the first Monaco man to win the men's singles championship at the ATP in general and the Masters in particular. He is the lowest-ranked champion in the history of the Masters 1000 tournaments. Vacherot will jump 164 places to 40th on the scoreboard next week, marking the first time he has reached the top 100 and top 50 in the world.

"This is great for Monaco. Before now we have never had a player born in Monaco in the top 100 men's singles, " Ms. de Massy added. "In Monaco, we love the Davis Cup because it is where we can be a team, be together. Whether it's a tournament, federation or club, Monaco tennis is a big family ".

By entering the top 50, Vacherot will regularly represent Monaco at ATP events in the near future. He wrote history for Monaco on the world tennis map with his perseverance and heart that doesn't know how to give up. Vacherot not only carries a racket when he steps onto the court, he also carries the heart of a small country but full of pride. "I do this not only for myself, but for my entire homeland, for those who dare to dream no matter where they come from ".