Monaco\u2019s Valentin Vacherot upset 2025 finalist Lorenzo Musetti Wednesday in a victory that likely meant as much to him as his stunning Rolex Shanghai Masters title run last year.<\/p>\n
Played under lights on Court Rainier III with Monegasque and Italian fans raising their voices in equal measure, Vacherot eked out a gritty first set and claimed two late breaks in the second to triumph 7-6(6), 7-5.<\/p>\n
Vacherot becomes just the second Monegasque after his half-brother and coach Benjamin Balleret to reach the third round. For a player ranked outside the Top 250 this time last year, he also improved to a remarkable 16-6 at ATP Masters 1000 level after claiming the third Top 10 win of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone had told me that my first Top 5 win of the season, second after Shanghai, would be here on a night session, on the centre court that I’ve been hitting on since I’m six years old, I wouldn\u2019t have believed it,\u201d an emotional Vacherot said on court.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe people don’t know that I love clay. I grew up playing here for 18 years before going to college and learning how to play on hard courts. But this is where I learned how to play tennis.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet’s say I needed a set and a half to get on it in the first round. And now my game is back.\u201d<\/p>\n