SHANGHAI (AP) — Valentin Vacherot beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Shanghai Masters for the first title of his career after a stunning run from the qualifying rounds.
The 204th-ranked Vacherot, an unheralded 26-year-old, was the lowest-ranked tournament winner in ATP Masters 1000 history — and the first from the tiny Principality of Monaco.
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Valentin Vacherot of Monaco celebrates with the trophy after winning the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament defeating Arthur Rinderknech of France at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Winner Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, right, and Arthur Rinderknech of France, embrace on the winners podium after the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Valentin Vacherot of Monaco celebrates with the trophy after winning the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament defeating Arthur Rinderknech of France at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Arthur Rinderknech of France is attended to by a trainer, as he plays against Valentin Vacherot of Monaco during the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Arthur Rinderknech of France hits a return to Valentin Vacherot of Monaco during the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Arthur Rinderknech of France hits a return to Valentin Vacherot of Monaco during the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Valentin Vacherot of Monaco celebrates after winning the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament, defeating Arthur Rinderknech of France at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
“Just crying, it’s just isn’t real what just happened. I’ve no idea what’s happening right now,” Vacherot said moments after victory. “I think there are two winners today and just one family that won. I think for the sport of tennis this story’s just unreal.”
It was quite a performance, too.
He stunned 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals to set up a final against the 30-year-old Rinderknech, who had downed four-time major finalist Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, in a remarkable semifinal of his own.
Before toppling Djokovic — owner of 100 career titles and among the greatest men's players ever — Vacherot also beat tenth-seeded Holger Rune in the quarterfinals.
“It's only my fourth season on the tour. I think of all the work I've done,” Vacherot said. “To win today is completely crazy, I just can't believe it."
He produced a serving masterclass in the third set, with three straight love holds and 15 consecutive points before finally losing a point in the eighth game with an unforced error.
Serving to stay in the match at 15-40 down, Rinderknech saved one match point but Vacherot wrong-footed him with yet another blistering forehand winner down the line to clinch victory.
He held his face in his hands in disbelief before walking to the net to hug his cousin and then rushing to his team box to share a long hug with coach Benjamin Balleret, who is his half-brother and is a former tennis player from Monaco.
Balleret's career highlight was a defeat to tennis great Roger Federer in the early rounds of the Monte Carlo Masters in 2006.
Nineteen years later, Federer was in the Shanghai crowd watching as Rinderknech clinched the first set with an ace.
Balleret and Federer shook hands before Vacherot grabbed a red-and-white Monaco flag and displayed it on court. Then he wrote “Grandma and Grandpa would be proud” on a courtside camera.
“I tried to put it to one side that it’s my cousin, the guy that I’ve been growing up with,” Vacherot said. “In the first set I didn’t bring my ‘A’ game and Arthur was playing better than me.”
Monaco's biggest sporting star is Fomula 1 driver Charles Leclerc, who has won eight races among his 48 podiums.
Vacherot will shoot up the rankings and inside the Top 50 on Monday.
He secured an early break in the decider and then missed four break-point chances in the fifth game as Rinderknech got a reprieve. The Frenchman immediately took a three-minute medical timeout for massage treatment on his back and then his left shoulder.
But there was nothing he could do to stop his cousin's momentum.
Rinderknech appeared troubled by heavy cramps and — after giving his runner-up speech — had to sit down as his cousin addressed the crowd.
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Valentin Vacherot of Monaco celebrates with the trophy after winning the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament defeating Arthur Rinderknech of France at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Winner Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, right, and Arthur Rinderknech of France, embrace on the winners podium after the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Valentin Vacherot of Monaco celebrates with the trophy after winning the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament defeating Arthur Rinderknech of France at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Arthur Rinderknech of France is attended to by a trainer, as he plays against Valentin Vacherot of Monaco during the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Arthur Rinderknech of France hits a return to Valentin Vacherot of Monaco during the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Arthur Rinderknech of France hits a return to Valentin Vacherot of Monaco during the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Valentin Vacherot of Monaco celebrates after winning the final of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament, defeating Arthur Rinderknech of France at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center, in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.
Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.
The troop movements were intended to portray unity among Europeans and send a signal to President Donald Trump that an American takeover of Greenland is not necessary as NATO together can safeguard the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.
“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.
Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.
On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation system.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the U.S. would continue at a high level over the following weeks.
Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the U.S. would go on and European support was becoming visible.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”
“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.
Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.
Maya Martinsen, 21, said it was “comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.
The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”
On Wednesday, Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”
“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.
Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the U.S.-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.
The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West's “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves”. It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO.
“Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation," the embassy said.
Rasmussen announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.
“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.
Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the U.S. did not mean “the danger has passed.”
Speaking on Thursday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the American ambition to take over Greenland remains intact despite the Washington meeting, but she welcomed the creation of the working group.
The most important thing for Greenlanders is that they were directly represented at the meeting in the White House and that “the diplomatic dialogue has begun now,” Juno Berthelsen, a lawmaker for the pro-independence Naleraq opposition party, told AP.
A relationship with the U.S. is beneficial for Greenlanders and Americans and is “vital to the security and stability of the Arctic and the Western Alliance,” Berthelsen said. He suggested the U.S. could be involved in the creation of a coastguard for Greenland, providing funding and creating jobs for local people who can help to patrol the Arctic.
Line McGee, 38, from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,” she said. “But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”
Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”
Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland.
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
People walk on a street in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
From center to right, Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Denmark's Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, rear, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, right, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with senators from the Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force taxis over the grounds at Wunstorf Air Base in the Hanover region, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 as troops from NATO countries, including France and Germany, are arriving in Greenland to boost security. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)
Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, left, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Senate Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
