Valentine Vacherot, a 26-year-old from Monaco who played his college tennis at Texas A&M, has stormed into the quarterfinals of the ATP Shanghai Masters 1000 — as a qualifier.

The world No. 204, who peaked at No. 110 in last year’s ATP rankings, has played only a handful of matches on the ATP Tour. However, his steady rise on the ATP Challenger circuit signaled that a breakthrough was coming — and this week in Shanghai, it finally arrived.

Vacherot’s Week

Vacherot’s qualifying campaign wasn’t exactly dominant — he needed three sets in both matches against Nishesh Basavareddy and Liam Draxl, coming from a set down twice to barely advance. This came just weeks after a first-round loss at the Saint-Tropez Challenger.

Once in the main draw, though, everything changed. Vacherot opened wit

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