What a fairytale journey Valentin Vacherot had this month in Shanghai. If one has to go back and look at his triumphant campaign, it was nothing short of a dream run for a guy ranked 204 to eventually come out on top. Especially against rivals who were far above him in the rankings. Still, the likes of Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, and even 24-time slam king Novak Djokovic himself couldn’t stop the Monegasque from creating history. Following this unexpected downfall of top 50 ATP stars against someone who wasn’t even in the top 200 has forced Kazakh star Alexander Bublik to make a harsh confession.

For the uninitiated, Bublik, ranked 16, was one of the opponents 26-year-old Vacherot beat en route to his title win in Shanghai. Despite being no match for any top 50 player, on paper,

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