Valentin Vacherot revelled in his fairytale victory at the Shanghai Masters, but insisted it was the "family that won" after beating cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final.

The world number 204 became the lowest-ranked ATP Masters champion in history, as he recovered from losing the opening set to prevail 4-6 6-3 6-3.

It was a remarkable victory for Vacherot, who was not on the original qualifying list for the event and only entered following the withdrawal of two players.

Having only previously won one match on the ATP Tour, the Monegasque became the first victor from his nation, and only the third qualifier to win an ATP Masters event.

Vacherot had already defeated the likes of Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic before putting his cousin to the sword in what was the first men's singles final between family members since John McEnroe beat brother Patrick in the 1991 Chicago Open showpiece.

"It is unreal what just happened – I have no idea what is happening right now," he said. "I am not even dreaming, it is just crazy!

Everything led up to this moment… Arthur & Valentin, what a magical story#ItAllAddsUp | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/ortZfXbDIt

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 12, 2025

“I am just so happy with my performances the past two weeks.

"There has to be one loser, but I think there are two winners today. One family that won, and I think for the sport of tennis, the story is unreal."

The comeback king this fortnight, Vacherot recovered from a set down to win six of his nine matches on route to glory.

He is only the second to win four or more matches from a set down on the way to landing an ATP Masters title, after Tommy Haas in Stuttgart 24 years ago.

"I feel when I am down, I have no choice and need to bring my A-game," he added. "In the first set, I didn’t do that, and he was playing better than me.

"I took my first chance to break in the second set and, from that, the crowd got more involved, and we put on more of a show in the second part of the match."