Underdog Rinderknech Stuns Top Seed Auger-Aliassime in Shanghai Shocker

On October 8th, 2025, France's Arthur Rinderknech pulled off a major upset at the Shanghai Masters, defeating 13th-ranked Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals. This comes just days after Rinderknech, ranked 54th at the start of the tournament, had already eliminated world #3 Alexander Zverev in a stunning victory.

Rinderknech's success has been mirrored by his cousin, Monaco's Valentin Vacherot, who also booked his place in the last four on October 7th by defeating Denmark's Holger Rune. The two cousins have enjoyed a dream run in Shanghai, with Rinderknech now set to face the winner of the match between Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur in the semifinals.

"Sometimes you like to win ugly, and today I thought it was a pretty good-looking win," Rinderknech joked after his victory over Auger-Aliassime. The Frenchman made light work of his higher-ranked opponent, breaking him in the sixth game of the first set and then again to start the second set, never allowing the Canadian to gain any momentum.