Valentin Vacherot made history as he stunned an out-of-sorts Novak Djokovic to seal a spot in the Shanghai Masters final, where he will remarkably face his cousin.
In claiming a 6-3 6-4 win over Djokovic, who had several medical timeouts and received treatment on his lower back, world number 204 Vacherot became the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 finalist in history.
The showpiece will be a family affair as unseeded Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech battled back from a set down to claim an upset 4-6 6-2 6-4 win over former US Open champion and 16th seed Daniil Medvedev.
Moments after Rinderknech sealed victory, Vacherot ran on to court and the pair embraced in emotional scenes as they basked in reaching the final of a Masters 1000 for the first time in their careers.
A meeting on Sunday between Monegasque qualifier Vacherot and world number 54 Rinderknech had seemed the most unlikely outcome, given the respective calibre of their semi-final opponents.
Djokovic was bidding for a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title, while the 38-year-old had already set a new benchmark by being the oldest man to get to the last four at this level.
But the 24-time grand slam champion, who had vomited and collapsed in his previous matches this week in hot and humid conditions, struggled physically once again and Vacherot capitalised in ruthless fashion.
Djokovic refused to discuss his condition afterwards, instead heaping praise on Vacherot, who had only beaten two top-50 players before this tournament, which he entered as an alternate for qualifying.
"I want to congratulate Valentin for reaching his first Masters final," the fourth seed said. "Going from qualifications, it's an amazing story. I told him at the net that he’s had an amazing tournament.
"More so his attitude is very good, and his game was amazing as well. So it’s all about him. I wish him all the best in the finals, and the better player won today."
Vacherot thumped 23 winners and sealed the best win of his career to continue his fairytale run from his second match point. Vacherot is guaranteed to leap into the world’s top 60 next week.
"This is just crazy," he said on court afterwards. "It was an hour and 40 minutes of pure joy, even though not many people wanted me to keep going. He’s really appreciated here.
"I got a bit lost in all his titles when they were announcing him, but it was an unreal experience. Now I’m probably just going to enjoy the win tonight and think about the final tomorrow."
Vacherot watched the other semi-final and had his head in his hands in disbelief after Rinderknech shocked 2019 champion Medvedev before going courtside to hug the winner.
"In the best dreams, we couldn’t have dreamt about this, so I can’t even say it’s a dream because I don’t think even one person in our family dreamt about it," Rinderknech said.
"It wasn’t a dream, it’s just a dream that came out of nowhere. We started believing it, I would say, in the quarters, maybe.
"Now we are here, we fought through so many matches and somehow we are the (two) guys standing at the end, so it’s just incredible."
Jessica Pegula hit back from 5-2 down in the final set against world number one Aryna Sabalenka to clinch victory on a tie-break and book a spot in the Wuhan Open final.
Pegula, who will face Coco Gauff on Sunday after the French Open champion beat Jasmine Paolini 6-4 6-3, was staring at a fifth successive loss to Sabalenka after going a break down in the third-set decider.
However, Pegula won four games in a row and although the American fluffed her lines by failing to serve out the match, she held her nerve to seal a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (2) victory in two hours and 19 minutes.
Sabalenka was the three-time defending champion and boasted a 20-0-win streak at the tournament but the Belarusian failed to hold as she served for the match when leading 5-3 and Pegula capitalised.
While Pegula secured back-to-back breaks, she spurned two match points when up 6-5 as Sabalenka hit back, but the world number six was in irresistible form in the tie-break to finally secure victory.
She has set up only the third all-American WTA 1000 final since its inception in 2009, having also contested the last one in 2024 in Toronto when she overcame Amanda Anisimova in three sets.
World number three Gauff was below her best in ousting seventh seed Paolini in an hour and 22 minutes, with both players struggling on serve in a semi-final that saw a dozen breaks.
Gauff, who served seven double faults, ultimately claimed seven of those breaks to triumph.
WTA - WUHAN TENNIS OPEN RESULTS
