Cousins Arthur Rinderknech & Valentin Vacherot light up Shanghai & WhatsApp chat

Shanghai

Cousins, roomies & quarter-finalists: Rinderknech & Vacherot light up family group chat

Rinderknech & Vacherot are both into their first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final

Greg Sharko

Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech are on the brinks of career-highs in the PIF ATP Rankings. By Greg Sharko

The family WhatsApp group for Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot has been busy during the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Frenchman Rinderknech and Vacherot of Monaco are cousins and are both into the quarter-finals at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time.

On Wednesday, Rinderknech defeated his third seeded opponent in the tournament, taking out Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 7-5, joining his cousin in the quarter-finals. Vacherot beat Tallon Griekspoor in three sets on Tuesday night.

"Our family WhatsApp group is buzzing a lot the past few days," said Rinderknech, who signed the courtside camera lens 'I follow you Val' with a heart emoji after his latest win. "I can't complain, it's great and it's reuniting the family together, at least online, having some fun. Everybody's watching each other. So it's really cool."

Vacherot's coach is half-brother Benjamin Balleret, who also played on the ATP Tour and reached a career-high No. 204 in the PIF ATP Rankings in June 2006. Balleret says there's a lot of excitement from both families back home.

"There are 20, 25 people in the WhatsApp group," said Balleret. "Everybody loves tennis and the mother of Arthur played tennis. My mother played, our mother with Val was a tennis coach. Everybody loves tennis and follows and they supported me when I was playing, now [it is the same] for Val and Arthur. It is basically almost all now only about tennis and where the next holidays will be and how it will be."

Rinderknech is 6-3 vs. Top 20 opponents since June, after going 0-16 from the start of the 2023 season up until June. He defeated 28th seed Alex Michelsen in the second round and third seed Alexander Zverev in the third round. It's the first time Rinderknech has registered multiple Top 20 wins in a tournament in his career.

"My serve was good today and I am really glad,” said Rinderknech, who will improve from No. 54 to No. 43 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, just one spot from his career-high of No. 42 on October 31, 2022. “I knew it was going to be important against a player like Jiri, because he's really good on serve as well. So the serve was going to be really important. I came out a bit on fire today and it was a good match and being able to close in two sets, that was important and really happy about it.”

World No. 204 Vacherot qualified and he is the first player from Monaco to advance to an ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final and the lowest-ranked quarter-finalist in tournament history (since 2009). He's also only the third qualifier to reach the quarter-finals in Shanghai, joining Matthew Ebden (2011) and Mischa Zverev (2016).

"He's playing good tennis this week and has been playing great tennis for few years now,” Rinderknech said on Vacherot. “He just battled a few injuries, but whenever he's playing he's always doing great, so just a matter of time for him. I'm really happy and glad that he's showing his best tennis this week. I hope and I think that's only the beginning for him."

Vacherot, who plays 10th seed Holger Rune on Thursday, reached a career-high No. 110 in June last year but a right shoulder injury sidelined him for the second half of last year.

"He couldn't serve or hit a forehand," said Balleret. "We were almost scared at some point that he couldn't play tennis for even two years or something. We tried many things and he actually tried to play at the US Open qualies but he played one match, and in the second match he retired in the second set. So it was a tough moment."

The 26-year-old Monaco native is playing in only his second tour-level event of the season after reaching the second round on home soil at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters in April. That was also his first career main draw in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament. He is 22-16 on the ATP Challenger Tour with his best result a runner-up in Francavilla al Mare, Italy in May.

Vacherot has jumped from No. 204 to No. 130 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and with a win against Rune, he will join his cousin in the Top 100 for the first time at No. 92.

"I don't think I could realise what I was doing this whole week, and it kind of all just hit me when I just won that match," said Vacherot after his fourth round win. "Generally I was happy this whole week, but not like through the roof. This one is unbelievable, so much emotions. Just thinking of the tough times I had last year, even this year, and just to share that with my coach, brother, and my girlfriend, it's just unbelievable. I'm having one of the best times of my life."

Rinderknech and Vacherot were college teammates at Texas A&M University for two and a half years in 2016-17 and the first half of 2018. They were also doubles partners on occasion.

"I recruited him to College Station," said Rinderknech. "I was there two years ahead of him, and we had two and a half years I think in common. It was a great time together and we spent so many days doing many things and having a lot of fun, so it was really cool to be together in the same team and same place for a few years."

Now the former college teammates will be watching each other in Shanghai along with their families back home.

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