Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot has been eliminated from the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad, falling to Belgium’s Raphaël Collignon in the quarter-finals 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 on Friday, July 17.
The defeat brings an end to what had been an encouraging comeback week for the Monegasque number one, who reached the last eight in his first tournament back since withdrawing from Roland Garros with a stress fracture in his foot, an injury that also forced him to sit out the entire grass-court season, including Wimbledon.
Vacherot had opened his return in strong fashion earlier in the week, coming through a three-set battle against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann to reach the quarter-finals. Against Collignon, he pushed the match to a deciding third set before ultimately falling short, with the Belgian closing it out 7-5 after the pair had traded the opening two sets.
While the result ends his run in Gstaad, the tournament marked an important step in Vacherot’s return to full fitness following a difficult season hampered by injury, one that has otherwise seen him rise to a career-high ranking of world No. 16, the highest ever achieved by a Monegasque player.
Image courtesy of Direction de la Communication – Manuel Vital