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Cameron Norrie was unable to build on his sensational win over Carlos Alcaraz as he was knocked out of the Paris Masters by red-hot Monegasque Valentin Vacherot on Thursday.
Vacherot came through against British No 2 Norrie 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to extend his Masters 1000 winning streak to 10 matches.
The 26-year-old, who claimed a shock victory against his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final of the Shanghai Masters earlier this month, eased past Jiri Lehecka before winning his rematch with Rinderknech on Wednesday.
Vacherot continued his hot streak by beating Norrie, who came into the match having stunned world No 1 Alcaraz 4-6 6-3 6-4.
Norrie edged most of the statistics but it was his opponent who seized his chance in the big moments.
The British No 2 was unable to take any of five break points, while Vacherot took the only opportunity he had, and he made it across the line despite winning four fewer points overall.
“That was a really big performance – that was my best match,” said Vacherot. “I won easier against 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.
“Really proud of how I handled the hot moments in the match and we keep going.”
Asked where he has been all this time, Vacherot added: “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.”
Tale of the Tape
Who is Valentin Vacherot?
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Highlights of the Shanghai Masters final between Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech
The 26-year-old, ranked world No 204 before his Shanghai Masters triumph, is up to No 30 in the live ranking.
He claimed a stunning victory against Rinderknech in China as a qualifier, to win the biggest title of his career and £824,000 in prize money – becoming the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion since 1990.
Vacherot’s path to the title included wins over Alexander Bublik, Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic.
He went through the US college tennis route from 2016 to 2020, representing Texas A&M University, where he also earned a business degree before returning to the professional circuit in 2021.
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Ben Shelton talked about his mindset before his crucial match at the Paris Masters, as he aim to qualify for the ATP Finals
Race To Turin
Fifth-seeded Ben Shelton beat 12th-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 to set up a quarter-final with four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner and qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
The Italian battled past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5 6-1 to advance in Paris.
Alex de Minaur also qualified for Turin after he defeated 2018 champion Karen Khachanov 6-2 6-2 in 67 minutes to reach the quarter-finals in Paris.
He will face Alexander Bublik who upset world No 4 Taylor Fritz to reach the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters on Thursday.
Bublik won the first set in a tiebreak after saving two set points, before taking control of the second set for a final 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 score.
The 14th seed will face de Minaur in the last eight.
There is now just one spot up for grabs in Turin after Taylor Fritz qualified on Wednesday with Shelton and Australian De Minaur on Thursday.
With Fritz and Shelton making it through, it’s the first time two Americans have qualified for the end-of-year extravaganza in the same year since Andy Roddick and James Blake in 2006.
Lorenzo Musetti, Felix Auger-Alisassime and Daniil Medvedev are among the chasing pack hoping to make a late surge.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tour Finals, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
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