It’s all in the family: Rinderknech beat Medvedev and will play his cousin Vachelot in the Shanghai final

Arthur Rinderknech defeated former world number 1 and 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev by 4-6, 6-2 and 6-4 to advance, in Shanghai, to the second final of his career, the first of a Masters 1000.

The strange thing is not the result itself but who he will play against in the last game: Valentin Vacherot, his cousin.

After losing the first set, he recovered and took advantage of the emotional instability of the Muscovite, who has not won a title since Rome 2023. He had lost five of the six ATP semifinals that the Frenchman had played before, who has become one of the six active tennis players who manages to reach the final of a MAsters 1000.

It took him two and a half hours to take revenge for the 2022 US Open match, when he lost to Medvedev on the only occasion they had played before.

Since 1990 and at 30 years and 71 days, he is now the oldest French player to reach his first Masters 1000 final, surpassing Ugo Humbert (26 years and 124 days) in Paris last year. He is the ninth finalist from his nation in this rank. The story continues.

All the action of the Shanghai Masters 1000 can be followed, live and exclusively, on Disney+ Premium Plan.