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An injury-hit Novak Djokovic suffered a shock defeat by Monegasque qualifier Valentin Vacherot in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.
Monaco’s Vacherot, who is ranked 204th in the world, recorded a 6-3 6-4 victory to become the lowest ranked ATP Masters 1000 finalist in history.
The 26-year-old will face either his cousin, the unseeded Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, or Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final.
“I’m trying to pinch myself, is this real?” said Vacherot, 26.
“To have Novak on the other side of the court was first of all an invaluable experience for me. I have a hundred feelings right now.”
Injury has been a problem all tournament for Djokovic and he vomited during his previous matches after struggling with the heat and humidity.
The issues flared up again in Saturday’s semi-final with the 38-year-old receiving medical treatment on several occasions.
At the start of the seventh game, the former world number one had to take an extended medical break, lying on his stomach shirtless as a physio attended to his back.
He received treatment again at the break but battled through into the second set.
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Despite visibly struggling, the Serb provided the Shanghai crowd with hopes of a comeback when he moved into a 4-3 lead before Vacherot reeled off three straight games to reach the final.
“I want to congratulate Valentin for reaching his first Masters final,” Djokovic said.
“Going from qualifications, it’s an amazing story. I told him at the net that he’s had an amazing tournament, but 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, who ensured he would rise into the top 100 for the first time by defeating Holger Rune in the quarter-finals, has now climbed 146 spots to world number 58 in the live rankings as a result of his Shanghai run.
On the other hand, world number one Aryna Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak at the Wuhan Open came to an end as Jessica Pegula rallied from 5-2 down in the deciding set to win and set up a final against Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka had won in Wuhan in each of the past three tournaments and looked set to reach the final again when she broke twice to take command of the third set.
But 31-year-old Pegula dug deep to win four games in a row.
Sabalenka survived two match points to force a tie-break but had nothing left as American Pegula won 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2).
