Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot made a successful comeback to the ATP Tour on Wednesday, July 15, defeating German player Yannick Hanfmann 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad, a result that will come as welcome news to Monegasque tennis fans following his lengthy injury absence.
The match marked the Principality’s top-ranked player’s first appearance since withdrawing from Roland Garros before his second-round match due to a stress fracture in his foot, an injury that also forced him to miss the entire grass-court season, including Wimbledon. Seeded third at Gstaad, Vacherot dropped the opening set before recovering to take the next two, sealing victory after two hours and nine minutes on court. He finished the match with 13 aces and won 73 percent of points on his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
The win is a significant step for a player who has already rewritten Monaco’s tennis history over the past year. Vacherot became the first Monegasque to win an ATP Tour singles title when he triumphed at the Shanghai Masters last October, a result that also made him the lowest-ranked champion in Masters 1000 history. He went on to become the first player from the Principality to break into the world’s top 50, and later the top 20, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 16 in May, the highest ever achieved by a Monegasque singles player. He also represents Monaco at the Davis Cup, where he holds a strong 10-3 win-loss record.
Vacherot’s return to winning form at Gstaad came on the same day his cousin, French player Arthur Rinderknech, also advanced to the quarter-finals, coming back from a break down and saving two match points in the deciding set to beat Clément Tabur 6-7(9), 7-6(5), 7-5 in a three-hour, 23-minute contest.
Vacherot will next face the winner of the match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jérôme Kym as he continues building back toward full fitness, with Monaco’s tennis community keeping a close eye on his progress after such a landmark twelve months for the Principality’s sport.
Image courtesy of Direction de la Communication – Manuel Vitali