Shanghai Masters final

Qualifier Valentin Vacherot rallied from behind to defeat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech and complete his fairytale Shanghai Masters run, winning the biggest title of his career in a unique and historic final.

Vacherot started the week as an alternate and ranked 204th in the world but the 26-year-old Monegasque produced a stunning run, knocking out a string of big names including Holger Rune in the quarter-finals and Novak Djokovic in the semis, to become the lowest-ranked Masters finalist in history.

The twist came as Vacherot faced family in the final, with Rinderknech’s win against Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals setting up one of the stories of the season as the two cousins, who were also college team-mates, competed against each other for the biggest prize of their careers.

With Roger Federer watching on, Rinderknech, the 30-year-old Frenchman, was the first to settle and broke Vacherot in the third game of the first set. The second set was dominated by serve until Vacherot raised his level to break Rinderknech for the first time, and then carried his momentum into the decider.

After Vacherot took the opening break, Rinderknech struggled physically while his younger cousin raced over the line. “It’s unreal, a dream,” Vacherot said after embracing his cousin at the net. “There has to be one loser, but I think there's just two winners today, one family that won. For the sport of tennis, this story is just unreal.”

Follow all the reaction from the final of the Shanghai Masters below:

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