The story of Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot might just be getting started. These two cousins, who surprised the tennis world by reaching the Shanghai Masters 1000 final in mid-October, could face each other again in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters. The draw, set to be revealed Friday evening, holds the possibility of this exciting rematch.
Rinderknech, currently ranked 27th in the world, hasn’t played a competitive match since his Shanghai triumph. His opening round opponent will be either a qualifier or a “special exempt” player, meaning someone who has advanced deep in the ATP 500 tournaments in Basel or Vienna the week prior.
On the other side of the draw, Vacherot, who stunned everyone by winning in Shanghai as the world’s 204th-ranked player, faces a tougher first-round challenge against Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, the 17th-ranked player.
### Rinderknech Sees a “Motivation” in a Potential Cousin Clash
The prospect of a second-round showdown wiht his cousin in paris is, as Rinderknech put it, “obviously a motivation.”
However,he was quick to acknowledge the difficulty of the potential match,noting that Vacherot’s first-round opponent,Lehecka,“is an excellent player,”
and that “we will both have very intricate matches.”
Vacherot, still riding the high of his Shanghai victory, expressed his excitement about the experience gained. “I gained a lot of experience in Shanghai,”
he shared, “and even in Basel”
where he put up a strong fight against world No. 4 Taylor Fritz before ultimately losing in three sets.He added, “I hope it will be Arthur in the second round.”
### Humbert Kicks Off Against a Top-20 Opponent
Meanwhile, top seed Carlos Alcaraz, who receives a bye in the first round, will make his debut against either Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie (35th) or Argentina’s Sebastian Baez (43rd). On the other side of the bracket,Jannik Sinner,last year’s runner-up,is slated to face either American Alex Michelsen (34th) or Belgium’s Zizou Bergs (40th) in his opening match.Defending champion Alexander zverev will begin his campaign in the second round against either Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli (50th) or a qualifier/special exempt.For Frenchman Ugo humbert (24th), who was defeated by Zverev in the 2024 final, his Paris Masters journey starts with a critically important challenge: he’ll face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, ranked 18th in the world, in the first round.
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