“I’m just someone who empathizes with the fight, I get excited. Sometimes I go a little too far” – words that Holger Rune said which make sense now. Last season, frustration seeped in after a loss to Tallon Griekspoor at the Madrid Open, and he brazenly blamed his coach and Serena Williams’ former trainer Patrick Mouratoglou. He did one better with his latest incident at the Shanghai Masters, where he let his temper steer his behavior this Thursday against a 204-ranked Monegasque.

Rune, who was playing against Valentine Vacherot – a first time ATP 1000 quarterfinalist – was visibly struggling. Vacherot gave him no chance for a comeback. After Rune snatched the first set, Vacherot leveled the match in the next one. Then in the third, when the score was 3-3, (30-0) in favor of Vacherot, the Danish ATP pro lost his cool at his own team, including his mother Aneke Rune. Aneka Rune did what any mother would do – help her ward with ways to bounce back, which incited an irate response from Rune, who yelled, “What can I do?”

His lack of consistency spilled over when he shouted “F— you” to his camp before preparing to serve. For Rune, cool once lost, remain lost. He failed to save the point, and Vacherot took his lead to 4-3 before eventually winning the match with a scoreline of 6-7, 7-6(4), 6-4.

What made things even worse for the Dane was his fitness. During the last set, the World No.11 called his trainer to have his right upper leg massaged. After that, Rune did continue playing while striking the ball hard. However, he was no match for Vacherot’s consistency.

The Monegasque held his nerves and saved two break points in the 10th game before converting second match point to make history for himself in Shanghai. Undoubtedly, the reaction that came out was priceless.

Holger Rune’s rival Valentin Vacherot makes honest confession on his dream run at Shanghai Masters

For the uninitiated, Valentin Vacherot has come back from being a set down in five of his last seven matches. Clearly, he has now got the hang of how to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Against Holger Rune, too, he did the same thing despite trailing initially.

Reacting on his performance, the Monegasque said, “First set, physically I was really shocked. That was a step above (what I am used to),” reported ATP Tour’s website on October 9. Vacherot also admired Rune’s performance, citing that he was impressive throughout the match. “I was shocked by how (Rune) was defending. Points that I would win against 90 per cent of the guys, for him it was just a random ball.”

“I felt like I was coming in and would have an easy volley. So the first set was pretty physical. My lungs were screaming a little bit, but that helped me a lot for the second set, because I just went off to change and it helped me to play a little bit more free.”

Coming onto match result, Vacherot was left stunned with himself and the dream run he has had so far. “This is just unbelievable. The last win (R16) meant already so much to me. This one means even more.” He has entered his maiden semifinal of a Masters 1000 event. Next up, the World No.204 will face 24-time slam king Novak Djokovic on Saturday. The latter beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the quarterfinal on Thursday, in straight sets.

No doubt, it will be a special occasion for the first-time semifinalist going against the six-time Shanghai champion. Given how both the players have shown solid performances on the court, fans can expect a cliffhanger of a battle. Will Djokovic march toward his seventh title in Shanghai or are we going to witness the biggest upset? Only time will tell.