"The story is just unreal, wish there could be two winners": Emotional Valentin Vacherot defeats cousin in Shanghai Masters fairytale final

Valentin Vacherot is the champion at the Shanghai Masters defeating Arthur Rinderknech in what can best be described as one of the best sporting fairytale stories of the year especially in tennis.

Coming in as an alternate just hoping to get qualifying, Vacherot left the scene of Shanghai as the champion as the lowest ranked winner in ATP Masters 1000 history. He also makes history as the first player from Monaco not only to win at this level but in general. Long a trailblazer for the country, he leaves Shanghai as the ultimate success story. From World No.204, he will also surge into the top 40 this week.

This means that qualifying for these events won't be much of an issue anymore and he can tap into his true potential that likely he has got confidence off leaps and bounds over the past few weeks. But it means more as he faced Arthur Rinderknech, his cousin.

They also became the first family final that wasn't Serena Williams vs Venus Williams ever and the first in 8 years in general with multiple iterations of the American rivalry in the past 30 years since they first faced off in 1999.

Rinderknech and Vacherot were both visibly emotional afterwards. The Frenchman was seen sat smiling next to him on the bench before the trophy ceremony and despite losing the final, it is very much a story where it is both the best and worst outcome. Being happy for either being family is one thing but also losing to them isn't exactly the best but Rinderknech handled it superbly and Vacherot said afterwards that he wished there was two winners dubbing it the fairytale that it is.

"I don't even know what's happening right now. I'm happy with my performance over the last two weeks. I want to thank everyone. This is the breakthrough of my career," said Vacherot.

"I tried to put aside the fact that I was playing against my cousin, it was very tough, he played well in the first set, much better than me, and I had to find a way to turn the situation around. It’s just all crying. It’s unreal what just happened. I have no idea what’s happening right now. I’m not in a dream. It’s just crazy. I’m so happy about my performance these past two weeks."

"I wanna thank everyone who put a brick in my career from the beginning. It’s really tough that there has to be one loser today. I think there’s just two winners today. One family that won. For the sport of tennis, the story is just unreal. I wish there could be two winners. Unfortunately there’s only one. For myself, I’m really happy that it’s me.”

Rinderknech took to the podium after losing the family and was visibly upset but in pure joy for his cousin. He said 'two cousins are better than one'.

A final brought together due in part to Vacherot's run which saw him down Rune and Djokovic in the latter stages, nobody would've thought that he would go all the way but he did and even in defeat, both have won today. While the season now heads towards a twilight of sorts, Vacherot creates another headline in a world where Alcaraz and Sinner dominate it is his time to shine this week.

But not only him but also Rinderknech who has shown his superb level this week and despite losing the final has a lot to take from a brilliant week in China.