If you had never heard of Valentin Vacherot before he stunned Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters, you would be forgiven. After all, the 26-year-old had a career record of 12-9 and had not sniffed a title as important as a Masters 1000 victory. Or, actually, any other title.
But after defeating Djokovic in straight sets, the only thing Vacherot needed to do was commit a bit of family drama by defeating his cousin, Arthur Rinderknech, in the final. A player ranked 204 on the ATP, such as Vacherot was entering Shanghai, would have been excused for a letdown after beating Djokovic.
Instead, he found a way to take the title in three sets, kiss his increasingly-famous girlfriend, be humble about what had just happened to him, and rejoice in his fortune. We all rejoiced with him, too.
Valentin Vacherot completes the unimaginable
How could we not? He was one of us, only a lot better. Still, he had toiled at his profession for quite some time, was coached by his half-brother, and kept his friends close. Vacherot had to. He couldn't afford the things the more successful players could.
But now he is one of those successful players. Before winning the Shanghai Masters, Valentin Vacherot's best ranking was 110. When the new rankings come out next week, Vacherot will launch to No. 40, up 164 spots. He is about to have a life he never expected.
But one that he completely deserves. The player from Monaco (the first player to ever win an ATP title from the small principality) might not be able to sustain his success, but he earned his way to the Shanghai title. Besides defeating Djokovic, he also defeated five other seeded players, including tenth-seed Holger Rune. And that was after Vacherot made it through qualifying.
No player would have had to overcome more in winning the Shanghai Masters or a few other tournaments. But he did so without bragging and without arrogance. Instead, he acted as we would: He couldn't believe how he got the title, but he sure was happy to win it.