Valentin Vacherot has taken the Shanghai Masters 1000 title, following a three sets win over his own cousin, Arthur Rinderknech. 

The 26-year-old, ranked 204 in the world, took the match 4-6,6-3,6-3 to claim his first ever ATP Tour title.

With that ranking, the Monegasques man becomes the lowest-ranked player to ever win an ATP Masters 1000 title since the introduction of the series back in 1990. 

On the road to the final, the cousins overcame tough semis, with eventual champion Vacherot beating a seemingly injured Novak Djokovic 6-3,6-4, whilst the Frenchman pushed through a tough three sets affair with Daniil Medvedev, 4-6,6-2,6-4.

Vacherot, who was a qualifier for this tournament, also beat tenth seed Holger Rune, that win coming in the quarter finals.

Those set of wins brought them together for an historic matchup between two members of the same family, the first time this has occurred since 1991.

The pair will also gain their highest ever rankings, with both moving into the top 40, for Vacherot it will be his first time inside the best 50 players in the world, being ranked at exactly 40.

As for his cousin, Rinderknech will see his name in the top 30 for the first time, achieving a rank of world number 28.

The match itself was a tight affair, especially the first two sets, with only one break of serve in each.

In set one the break went to Rinderknech whilst in the second it was Vacherot that had the advantage, forcing the two into a decider. 

 The final set was the longest, totalling up to 54 minutes, yet may have been the easiest for the 26-year-old champion, with an early break of the Frenchman’s serve in game one which was continuously consolidated and eventually doubled by a final break of the Rinderknech serve at 5-3. 

The Shanghai Masters brought a brilliant story that no one would’ve expected, with Carlos Alcaraz out, Jannik Sinner picking up an injury and Novak Djokovic not 100% fit, there was an opportunity for someone new to become a Masters champion and Vacherot took the chance and is now the Shanghai Masters 1000 winner. Incredible!