Valentin Vacherot’s Masters run continues as he reaches Paris quarter-finals

PARIS – Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot continued to show his run to the Shanghai Masters title as a qualifier was not a fluke by defeating Carlos Alcaraz’s conqueror Cameron Norrie in the Paris Masters on Oct 30.

Fresh from seeing off his cousin Arthur Rinderknech of France in a rematch of the Shanghai final in the second round, he beat Norrie 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in the last 16 at Paris La Defense Arena.

“It was a really big performance,” said the 26-year-old, who extended his Masters winning streak to 10 matches.

“I won easier against (Jiri) Lehecka in the first round. Today, Cam was really tough. He makes you hit a ton of balls. He makes you run and you have to be so aggressive if you want to win.

“I’m happy with how I handled the hot moments... I’ve been training, trying, working, everything possible. Everything is clicking now after the work of many, many years. Pure work. I never thought it would pay off this way.”

Norrie had upset world No. 1 Alcaraz in the previous round.

Vacherot rocketed from No. 204 in the world to No. 40 after his win in China, which was also his first ATP title.

He is the lowest-ranked player to win an ATP 1000 tournament, meaning he had to submit a request just to enter the main draw of the following Masters event in the French capital.

The Monegasque has won 10 of his 12 clashes against top-50 ranked players in 2025, with world No. 31 Norrie the latest victim.

The 30-year-old Briton dropped just five points on his serve in the opening stanza, but failed to convert his sole breakpoint opportunity before eventually losing the tiebreak.

Vacherot proved more clinical in the decisive moments, despite winning four fewer points overall in the 1hr 37min tie.

His reward is a quarter-final clash against Canada’s world No. 10 Felix Auger-Aliassime, who came back from a set down to beat German Daniel Altmaier 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in 2hr 12min.

World No. 7 Ben Shelton is also through to the last eight after the American beat Russia’s 12th seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in 1hr 36min.

Shelton edged out a tight opening set against Rublev after nearly an hour on court.

The big-serving Toronto Masters champion then secured the first break of the match in the seventh game of the second set to close in on victory.

Shelton engineered several match points in Rublev’s next service game, before eventually converting at the third time of asking.

The American will face either world No. 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy or Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the next round.

Also through to the last eight are Australian world No. 6 Alex de Minaur, who romped past Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-2, 6-2, and Kazakh Alexander Bublik, who stunned fourth-ranked American Taylor Fritz 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

In a late match on Oct 29, Sinner began his tilt at a maiden Paris crown which would return him to world No. 1 with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Zizou Bergs.

Following the surprise exit of top-ranked Alcaraz on Oct 28, a maiden crown in the ATP 1000 event would return Sinner to the summit of the world rankings.

But the second seed showed no signs of feeling the weight of that pressure in his opening match.

“I’m very happy to come through the first match,” said the 24-year-old Italian. “I was very precise and I also started off with a break straight away, which gives you a bit more confidence.”

Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner is known for his efficiency on court and won through against 41st-ranked Belgian Bergs in 1hr 27min without facing a single break point.

In another late clash on Oct 29, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, who occupies the final qualification spot for November’s ATP Finals in Turin, fell to a costly 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 defeat by compatriot Lorenzo Sonego.

Auger-Aliassime could overtake him and take his final qualification spot should he reach the title-decider in Paris. AFP