Follow us on Google Discover Valentin Vacherot made his ATP Tour breakthrough at the Shanghai Masters.
Ranked 204th in the world, Vacherot travelled to Shanghai as a qualifying alternate, unsure whether he would be given the chance to compete.
Receiving a qualifying spot at the last minute, Vacherot won his two matches to advance to the main draw.
There, he beat Laslo Djere, Alexander Bublik, Tomas Machac, Tallon Griekspoor, and Holger Rune to set up a semifinal tie with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
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Dealing with the pressure, Vacherot defeated Djokovic 6-3, 6-4, picking up the biggest win of his professional career.
Two weeks on, Vacherot has looked back on that match and suggested what Djokovic’s ATP rivals are starting to think about him.
Valentin Vacherot says the ATP locker room now believes they can beat Novak Djokovic
Appearing as a guest on ‘The Changeover Podcast’, Vacherot was asked whether he believes Djokovic’s locker room aura is fading.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure guys believe more now that they can beat him,” he said.
“But in my opinion, it’s more about the fitness part than the tennis, the mental.
“We had insane points, two points from the end, I’m hitting crazy overhead backhand drop shots that I’ve never hit in my life, he’s running, stretching to it, putting it back in the corner. The stadium erupts. I’ve never seen it in my life.
“So even fitness, you believe that because he’s 38 years old, you’re going to be better than him physically, but then you run side to side, yes, sometimes he has physical problems, but he still runs side to side.”
Vacherot highlighted Djokovic’s fitness as an area of weakness before he even stepped out on court for their semifinal clash.
“It’s probably the match that I was thinking about the least before. Even during the 20 minutes before, when I was warming up, I was thinking that there’s a part of me that’s better than this guy, my fitness,” he said.
“All of the other guys, I couldn’t say that, but we know that Novak [Djokovic] is close to 40 years old, if this match lasts, it’s probably good for me.
“I saw in the match before that he had a few problems.”
Djokovic may not have been 100%, but that didn’t stop him from making a fast start against the Monegasque.
“The guy comes out so hot in the first game, playing every shot this far from the baseline, I’m playing well, he’s just slapping his forehand down the line, I’m coming in on every serve, and I get broken straight away,” said Vacherot.
Keeping his composure, Vacherot took control of the match as Djokovic began to struggle physically.
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“Fifth or sixth game, he started to limp a little bit, but in my head I’m like, it’s Novak, he’s done that 60 times, I’ve seen it on TV 50 times,” he said.
“I’m just trying to focus on myself, don’t look at him.
“Make him run, don’t be nice. That’s the only match where I thought there was something I could rely on, with my fitness. I just focused on making him move, and finished when I could finish.
“But even with him at lower fitness, he’s still better than 95% of guys, it’s crazy.”
Djokovic may still be better than the majority of his ATP Tour rivals, but as Vacherot mentioned, the aura of invincibility has vanished.
The Serbian legend has lost several matches against lower-ranked players this year, with each defeat providing more confidence to his future opponents.
Novak Djokovic’s 2025 defeats
Playing a shortened schedule this year, Djokovic has only competed in 12 tournaments.
Failing to win the title in all but one of those tournaments (Geneva Open), Djokovic has racked up 11 defeats in 2025.
Novak Djokovic’s 2025 defeats
Djokovic has lost four matches to players ranked outside the top 50 this year (Valentin Vacherot, Jakub Mensik, Botic van de Zandschulp, Reilly Opelka).
He had only previously lost four or more ATP matches to players outside the top 50 in 2018 and 2006.
It remains to be seen if Djokovic will struggle against lower-ranked players again in 2026, but it will certainly be something to look out for.