#valentin vacherot

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RG MS Q3: Meet Your Qualifiers (Day 1)

Illustration of Roland Garros qualifying rounds (📸 Archysport)

For a more compact version in the form of a Twitter thread, click here.

As per tradition in the French Open, differing from other Grand Slams, the third qualifying round matches are divided into two days, with one of the reasons likely being weather, as it turned out to rain upon the conclusion of the matches. Interestingly, due to the previous rain delays that happened yesterday, the 8 sections that finished first (3, 9-15) played today to find out the first 8 qualifiers to the Men's Singles sector in Roland Garros.

Recognizing that these qualifiers could often shock you (and your favorite players) in a way you will never imagine, meet your qualifiers (first part, also with the oversimplified match report):

Section 13: Shintaro Mochizuki def. Facundo Bagnis [13] 6-4, 2-0 ret.

Shintaro Mochizuki's points to *0-0 30-30, 1st set (top left), to *4-4 0-30, 1st set (top right), and to set up his set point at *5-4 40-30, 1st set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

F. Bagnis came to the Roland Garros qualifying rounds thanks to shining through the Golden Swing, becoming the runner-up of Cordoba (250) to Luciano Darderi 1-6, 4-6, preceded by winning the Buenos Aires 2 (Argentino) Challenger against Mariano Navone in a comeback fashion 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 right before L. Darderi and M. Navone broke out. Trying to follow their journey in terms of resurgence, F. Bagnis continued with a runner-up showing in Santiago Challenger (l. Juan Pablo Varillas) and the quarterfinals in Aix-en-Provence Challenger albeit being unable to catch a break as he was forced to retire down 0-6 to eventual champion Alejandro Tabilo, coming to the Roland Garros third qualifying round without dropping a set as he defeated M. Tomas Barrios Vera and Juan Manuel Cerundolo both in straight sets (6-3, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-2, respectively). On the other hand, other than the competitive showing in the second round of Cagliari Challenger (l. Mariano Navone), S. Mochizuki might have shocked the most on paper as he stunned clay frequents Nick Hardt 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and 18th seed Stefano Napolitano 6-3, 6-2 in a confident showing during the first two qualifying rounds, showing that his competitiveness paid off thanks to trusting his strokes and pacing. This match might not be any different, judging by how offensive both players could be, but being passive would not help as well as their past matches showed.

S. Mochizuki started the first set with an early break (1-0) thanks to his preceding forehand to 0-0* 30-30 in the first set, already outhitting F. Bagnis' forehand before consolidating his lead to 2-0. Despite being broken back to 2-2, he bounced back by breaking again to 5-4 thanks to his preceding backhand. He became more aggressive as he went after F. Bagnis' forehand to generate his break point, eventually breaking to 5-4. The same aggression that likely helped him to win the Barletta Challenger last year bore fruit as he took the first set 6-4, setting up his set point with a working volley beforehand. However, S. Mochizuki picked up decent form by breaking early to 1-0 thanks to his preceding backhand 2 points into the first game while F. Bagnis erred his forehands, followed by consolidation to 2-0, and the Argentinean 13th seed took a medical timeout for his left leg. Taking a precaution, he retired right before he served at the beginning of the third game, sending S. Mochizuki to the main draw, his third since he qualified for the Wimbledon Championships 2023 and became a lucky loser in the Australian Open 2024.

Section 15: Hamad Medjedovic [15] def. Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-2, 6-2

Hamad Medjedovic's points to 1-1* 15-40, 1st set (top left), to break 2-1, 1st set (top right), to 1-1* 0-40, 2nd set (top right), and to 4-2* 0-15 (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

After being back from illness, H. Medjedovic re-started his season with a bang, most notably taking a set off Daniil Medvedev despite the loss at 6-7(5), 6-2, 5-7 as a qualifier after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, all in the first two rounds of Rome Masters 1000. Here, he stunned Lucas Pouille 6-3, 7-5 in a high-quality battle during the first qualifying round, compared to G. Blancaneaux, who also qualified last year, had a poor clay season with the early exits even after winning the New Delhi Challenger on the hard courts, but he managed to score a Top 150 win in Duje Ajdukovic, 7-5, 6-4, in the second qualifying round. This match would test their offensives, where one who appeared more aggressive could prevail.

Even though H. Medjedovic had to survive a nervy start as he faced a break point earlier in the first game due to his forehand error, but he still managed to hold his serves to 1-0 in the first set. G. Blancaneaux might have started the third game with a forehand error, but the 2023 NextGen Finals champion scored his earliest break point of the game through a drop shot before converting it via a forehand winner (3-1). The former turned out to double the break thanks to his fourth-shot forehand winner, taking the first set 6-2 through an unreturned serve as he survived the tendency to rush his third-shot forehands midway. He continued the dominance in the second set as he fired a backhand down-the-line winner to create his break point in the third game before eventually breaking to 2-1. Almost replicating the previous set, his cross-court backhand winner preceded another forehand winner for the first two points of the seventh game, dominating his way to break again 5-2 before finally getting the straight-set victory (6-2), concluding the match in a confident showing compared to his qualification last year.

Section 14: Valentin Vacherot [14] def. Billy Harris 7-6(2), 7-5

Valentin Vacherot's point to *2-2 30-30 (1st set) (top left), to 6-6(2-1, 1st set tie-breaker) (top right), to break 4-3 in the 2nd set (bottom left), and to hold 4-4 in the 2nd set (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

Vacherot could not stop rolling since winning the Nonthaburi 1-2 and Pune Challengers, kept rising until he also became a semifinalist in the Aix-en-Provence Challenger as eventual champion Alejandro Tabilo defeated him in 3 sets. In the Roland Garros qualifying rounds itself, Vacherot defeated Gabriel Debru and Enzo Couacaud in identical scorelines (4-6, 6-3, 7-5), including a comeback win from 4-6, 0-2 in the latter match before facing Billy Harris, who adapted well on clay as he notably tussled with Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Challenger despite the 5-7, 6-7(2) loss as well as taking a set off Hugo Dellien of all people in the Rome (Italy) Challenger quarterfinals before stunning 17th seed Emilio Nava 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, followed by fighting his way to defeat wild card Manuel Guinard 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) in the second qualifying round. This could be a tough ordeal for B. Harris, considering Vacherot’s form and offensives, but nothing is impossible until the match is called.

This match once again turned out to be another classic Vacherot rollercoaster (in Roland Garros qualifying terms). Starting the match by almost breaking early due to B. Harris’ +1 forehand error before the Brit held to 2-2 in the first set, Vacherot overcame another deficit through a notable backhand down-the-line winner in the fifth game only to get broken in the seventh game due to his forehand errors (4-3). As B. Harris should have served for the first set in the tenth game, the Monegasque 14th seed broke back to 5-5 thanks to his constant redirections as he got even more comfortable with his angles, asking further shot placement questions to B. Harris. Sealing the first set after nailing the tie-breaker 7-6(2), not looking back as he led 2-1 in the breaker thanks to his backhand winner, Vacherot somehow got broken early again to 2-0 for the same reason with the first set (forehand). However, Vacherot bounced back, regaining his accurate forehands in time with a winner to break it (4-3). Volleying his way to strengthen his position (4-4), Vacherot earned the crucial break in the eleventh game (6-5) as his forehand down-the-line winner paved the way, successfully serving it out (7-5) to keep on rolling in this season.

Section 11: Giulio Zeppieri [31] def. Otto Virtanen 6-2, 6-2

Giulio Zeppieri's point to 3-1* 40-ad (latest break point, 1st set) (top left), to *0-0 0-30 in the 2nd set (top right), and to 3-1* 40-ad in the 2nd set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

Despite having a subpar clay season and an underwhelming first part of the Asian Challenger swing on the hard courts beforehand, most of which was a result of his unserious mode coming out, except in some occasions where he was competitive enough despite the loss (e.g. in the second round of the Mauthausen Challenger against Max Hans Rehberg and the first qualifying round of the Turin Challenger against Marc-Andrea Huesler), O. Virtanen became even more serious during the Roland Garros qualification rounds, having a solid showing against Dane Sweeny 6-2, 6-3 and stunning the 11th seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 7-5 in the Austrian's last-ever Roland Garros match. He faced a decent test in 31st seed Giulio Zeppieri, who, despite also his competitive early eliminations in most Challenger events he partook (most notably got defeated by Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Turin Challenger as a qualifier), he managed to regain his clay-court form in time as he defeated his fellow Italian Stefano Travaglia 6-3, 6-2 and survived trouble as he defeated Adrian Andreev 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in another close encounter. Knowing both players, this should be one of those days where the more aggressive one would prevail in this match, but only those who could stay consistent in their range.

O. Virtanen started the match unseriously as his forehand errors resulted in G. Zeppieri breaking early to 1-0. Somehow, even with the Finn’s best efforts to save the break points, G. Zeppieri’s smash secured his latest break point before he doubled the break to 4-1, and he did not look back as he took the first set 6-2. Almost similarly, the Italian 31st seed started the second set with an early break due to O. Virtanen’s erratic showing, but the former had a forehand pass to O. Virtanen’s position at the net to generate his second break point before doubling the break in the same spot with the first set (fifth game). Consolidating his position with a service game hold (5-1), G. Zeppieri affirmed his dominance by also taking the second set 6-2, doing what he had to do to secure his spot in the main draw, just like when he became the first to qualify in the Australian Open this year.

Section 12: Gustavo Heide def. Matteo Gigante [28] 6-3, 6-2

Gustavo Heide's points to 1-1* 40-40, 1st set (top left), to 5-2* 40-ad (set point-setting, 1st set, top right), to 5-2* 40-40, 2nd set (bottom left), and to 5-2* 40-ad, 2nd set (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

Trying to show the potential he has, M. Gigante came to this clay season prepared despite several rollercoasters, one of which was the Napoli Challenger quarterfinal against Luca Nardi, which he lost 6-4, 4-6, 1-6 while surviving the Marrakech qualification rounds as he defeated both Karim Bennani and Rudolf Molleker in 3 sets before having to retire down 3-6, 0-2 against Roberto Carballes Baena in the first round. This was also the case in this year's Roland Garros qualification rounds, as he had to survive two three-set matches against wild card Sacha Gueymard Wayenburg (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) and Dalibor Svrcina (4-6, 6-3, 7-5), coming back from a break down against the latter. In contrast, G. Heide came from his maiden Challenger title in Asuncion (d. Joao Fonseca 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-1) despite exiting in the second round in all his European clay campaigns (Mauthausen & Oeiras 4 Challengers), somehow navigating his way through the Roland Garros qualifying rounds after pulling a whole comeback against 12th seed Lukas Klein 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) and Bu Yunchaokete 7-5, 6-3 in a more convincing manner. This match could be a classic, decent test that showcased the best in them, with the more balanced player standing out in this match.

G. Heide commenced the match by breaking early to 2-1 as he outhit M. Gigante’s forehands while firing a working volley to secure the first deuce before the said break. He consolidated his lead to 3-1 and turned out to break for the first set (6-3) several games later after a backhand error fumbled M. Gigante’s break point, followed by his frequent forehand errors. Several games in, both players turned out to tussle for in total of 24 minutes including the first two games right after the Italian 29th seed forced the first deuce. By the conclusion of the third game, G. Heide had a massive hold to 2-1, which turned out to be crucial as he broke to 4-2 after a 0-hold due to M. Gigante’s frequent backhand errors and double faults (at least twice of the latter’s mistakes along the way). Without looking back, G. Heide strengthened his position with a service game hold to 5-2, constructing his break point through his preceding backhands after forcing a deuce through a backhand winner before taking the second set 6-2 due to M. Gigante’s forehand error, securing his maiden Grand Slam main draw appearance as he continued to rise this season.

Section 3: Mattia Bellucci def. Alejandro Moro Canas 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(7)

Mattia Bellucci's point to 5-3* 0-15, 1st set (top left), to *1-2 15-30, 2nd set (top right), and to *3-4 15-30, 3rd set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

A. Moro Canas came to the Roland Garros qualifying rounds completely in form, which started from his second-round loss against Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-1 after stunning Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-4 in the first round for his first-level ATP-level victory. Building up from there, he went on to win his maiden Challenger title in Rome (Italy), defeating his fellow first-time finalist Vilius Gaubas 7-5, 6-3 after denying the Lithuanian youngster the chance to serve for the first set, continuing this with a confident showing in the first two qualifying rounds as he defeated Marc Polmans 6-1, 6-2 and wild card Maxime Janvier 6-3, 6-4 to set a clash against Mattia Bellucci. In contrast, the Italian had an interesting approach, reaching the quarterfinals in the hard courts of the Shenzhen (Luohu) Challenger (l. James Duckworth) for his best showing in the first part of the Asian Challenger swing before returning to Europe, starting his clay season in the Turin Challenger qualifying rounds as he defeated Alexis Galarneau 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2 after a scrappy start only to be defeated by an in-form Francesco Maestrelli 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. He followed this up by defeating Matteo Martineau 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 and stunning 20th seed Lloyd Harris 6-1, 7-6(9) after recovering from a 1-4 deficit in the tie-breaker and surviving a set point, setting this encounter that could come down to their pressure points’ handling despite their fiery groundstrokes at their best. Indeed, the match did not disappoint, it had everything.

As A. Moro Canas dominated the first set through his powerful aggression, taking the first set 6-3 while surviving the Italian’s backhand pass in hopes of prolonging the said set, M. Bellucci steadily struck back from the baseline, which pressed A. Moro Canas’ second serves enough for the Spaniard to commit a double fault to be broken (1-3). M. Bellucci then consolidated his lead to 4-1 and ended up going after A. Moro Canas’ forehands, which assisted him in breaking for the second set 6-2. The deciding set turned out to play a big role as both players upped their aggression against each other and struck the ball as cleanly as possible, as well as displaying their stellar point constructions in between. This included M. Bellucci’s notable drop shot for a one-point lead even if it was neutralized through a backhand pass, where the Italian held his service game to 4-3 even if he had to survive a break point back in the sixth game. With A. Moro Canas holding his service games to 6-6, a match tie-break occurred to determine the rest of the match, where the former was unable to capitalize on his 4-2 lead (which happened due to M. Bellucci’s double-fault right at the first point of the breaker), followed by a volley error. Subsequently, A. Moro Canas’ forehand error, which was fired too long, generated M. Bellucci’s mini-break to 6-5, and even though he had a match point saved earlier, an unreturned serve converted the match point as M. Bellucci took the third set 7-6(7), thus securing his spot in the main draw.

Section 10: Gregoire Barrere [10] def. Denis Kudla 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Gregoire Barrere's points to 0-1* 0-30, 1st set (top left), 1-0* 0-40, 2nd set (top right), to take the 2nd set 6-2 (bottom left), and to 1-0* 30-30, 3rd set (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

G. Barrere might have had a slow start to the season back on the hard courts, but the clay season turned out to be a perfect moment for him to bounce back from these setbacks. Most notably, he reached the semifinals of Bucharest (250) (l. Mariano Navone) and Aix-en-Provence Challenger (l. Arthur Fils), defeating wild card Theo Papamalamis 6-3, 6-1 and Andrea Pellegrino 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 coming to the Roland Garros third qualifying round. On the other hand, outside of the San Luis Potosi Challenger semifinal, it was a subpar clay-court campaign for Denis Kudla before suddenly goating in the French Open qualifying rounds, as he defeated other clay-court frequents Jan Choinski 6-4, 6-4, and 19th seed Vit Kopriva 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first two qualifying rounds. As the more aggressive one from the said two players took this, this ended up testing their range consistency when the match allowed, especially with such pacing.

Even though this match started with D. Kudla suddenly peaking through his passes, G. Barrere had a notable backhand down-the-line winner to win the second point of the second game (in the first set) in hopes of breaking back, but to no avail even if he had several break points as D. Kudla held his serves to 2-0, and turned out to dominate the flow as he doubled the break and took the first set 6-2. However, G. Barrere regrouped after he held the first game of the second game, creating his break point with a volley before he broke to 2-0. Even if he got broken back right after as D. Kudla leveled the play (2-1), G. Barrere went after D. Kudla’s forehands to break again to 4-2, topped by the American’s double-fault. By then, G. Barrere broke again for the second set thanks to his backhand to D. Kudla’s slice error as he targeted D. Kudla’s forehands midway. The French 10th seed then emphasized the importance of his setup as his preceding backhand equalized the play in the fourth point of the second game (1-0* to 30-30) before D. Kudla’s two consecutive double faults secured the former’s break of serve (2-0). Since then, G. Barrere did not look back, strengthening his lead to 3-0 while almost demolishing D. Kudla as he forced the deuce in the fourth game. Ultimately, even if D. Kudla held his service games, it was insufficient to put more pressure on G. Barrere as the Frenchman took the 3rd set 6-3, confirming his resurgence with a main draw spot in his home Slam.

Section 9: Gabriel Diallo def. Alexander Ritschard 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Gabriel Diallo's point to 2-1* 40-ad (earlier break point, 2nd set, top left), to 5-2* 0-40 in the 2nd set (top right), to 1-2* 30-40 (3rd break point, 3rd set, bottom left), and 3-2* 30-40 (1st break point, 3rd set, bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

This clash might have been overlooked on paper as several other names were favored instead, but they proved that nothing is impossible. Gabriel Diallo built his rally tolerance a long way despite his loss to Mitchell Krueger in 2 tie-break sets back in Houston (250), fighting his way despite his elimination to eventual champion Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-7(3) in a 3-hour-30-minute battle, and displaying it as well in the first round of the Mauthausen Challenger before he had to retire down 6-3, 5-7, 2-4 against Lukas Neumayer. Interestingly, as he also defeated some clay-court frequents along the way, which included Orlando Luz and Hugo Dellien in the Turin Challenger qualifying rounds, he also dug deep to defeat Argentineans Genaro Alberto Olivieri 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1 and Marco Trungelliti 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4 in the first two qualifying rounds in Roland Garros. On the other hand, A. Ritschard had an intriguing United States clay campaign, as he qualified for the Houston (250) before being defeated by J.J. Wolf in the first round and went on to win the Savannah Challenger after defeating qualifier Andres Andrade 6-2, 6-4 for the first time since the Hamburg Challenger 2022, going straight to the Roland Garros qualifying rounds by confidently stunning the Oeiras 4 Challenger runner-up, Elias Ymer, 6-2, 6-1, and Titouan Droguet 6-1, 6-3 in the first two qualifying rounds. For either player, this could be all to play for, showcasing everything they got in terms of their point construction and some balanced plays for a spot in the main draw.

In the first set, G. Diallo struggled with forehand errors, allowing A. Ritschard to break early (1-0) and take a 2-0 lead. The same forehand error resulted in A. Ritschard’s double-break lead, where he eventually took the first set 6-2. Nonetheless, the Canadian started to hit the ball even harder, smashing it to generate his third break point before finally breaking to 3-1 due to A. Ritschard’s forehand error, and held his service game afterward to 4-1. Ultimately, G. Diallo forced the deciding set as he broke to 6-2, getting broken early moments after he double-faulted in the fourth game of the first game to start the third set. The Canadian returned from the brink by becoming more offensive, breaking back to 2-2 before doing it again to 4-2 as his forehand winner generated his first break point, eventually taking the 5-2 lead. Two games later, after overcoming a couple of deficits, G. Diallo served for the match (6-3) and secured his first appearance in a Grand Slam-level main draw. This win showcased improvements in his rally tolerance and pacing on red clay. Interestingly, the final scoreline coincidentally matched that of a previous match in Section 10.

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Tennis: Wta Miami, Bronzetti fuori al primo turno

Lucia Bronzetti esce al primo turno al “Miami Open”, quarto Wta 1000 della stagione. La 25enne di Villa Verucchio, n.49 del ranking, è stata sconfitta per 3-6 6-3 6-4 dalla statunitense Taylor Townsend, n.72 WTA, proveniente dalle qualificazioni.     Nel torneo maschile, secondo ATP Masters 1000 del 2024, Andrea Vavassori ha battuto per 6-2 4-6 7-6(3) il monegasco Valentin Vacherot, n.146 Atp e…

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Tunis Ch SF: Valentin Royer def. Valentin Vacherot [1] 7-6(5), 6-4 Match Stats

📸 ATP official website

Vacherot had some fair chances that were not taken advantage of, but V. Royer managed to stay in his range and appeared more offensive under pressure. This way, he was able to nail the tie-breaker through his point construction, starting from his functional drop shot, as well as scoring a forehand winner right on his break point in the second set. As a result, V. Royer converted 33% of his break points, which happened on the second set compared to Vacherot's non-conversion of his chances.

Besides, V. Royer also had slightly more solid service games. Scoring twice more aces than Vacherot (6 to 3), V. Royer won 7% more first serve points with 85% compared to Vacherot's 78% to get himself out of some troubles, but despite double-faulting thrice, he was still able to win 3% more second serve points than Vacherot, who often got rushed in some crucial moments.

In the final, V. Royer will face another experienced player in Oriol Roca Batalla, who also stunned second seed Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 7-6(6) in the semifinals after coming back from a game down as the latter should have served for the second set. This could be interesting to see how their pacing and offensives fare, with their shot execution also remained important at best.

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📸 🎥 ATP official website

Just like the first set, Vacherot also had his chances earlier on as V. Royer's unforced error generated the former's break point, which turned out to be fumbled and the latter managed to hold the said service game to 2-2. It took several more games for an actual break point to materialize, as V. Royer tried to capitalize on Vacherot's +1 forehand error for his break point to break to 4-3 thanks to the Frenchman's forehand winner.

V. Royer had not looked back since then, holding his serves to 5-3 afterward. Even if he had to serve for the match 2 points later as Vacherot held his serves, he still secured the second set 6-4 as he passed the first seed right from the first, which resulted in his qualification to the final.

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📸 ATP official website

Meanwhile, in the Tunis Challenger...

The singles semifinal was wrapped with the "Battle of the Valentins" as both shared the same first name, which involved first seed Valentin Vacherot, who did not drop a set and breezed through the quarterfinals as he defeated qualifier Timofey Skatov 6-1, 6-2 in yesterday's quarterfinal, and Valentin Royer, who also stunned eighth seed Genaro Alberto Olivieri 6-1, 6-2 in a convincing manner. While this ended up to be competitive and tested their aggression, it turned out to test their pressure point handling more as the match progressed.

Vacherot initially had some fair chances by having a break point as V. Royer missed his shots back in the sixth game, but the latter then recovered to hold his serves 3-3. However, as they tried to figure each other out through their baseline-based aggression, it turned out that the tie-breaker became inevitable six games later as the scoreboard showed 6-6.

V. Royer initially dominated the tie-breaker by mini-breaking early to 2-1 thanks to his successful drop shot, followed by a consolidation to 3-1. Somehow, a backhand error from the Monegasque first seed doubled the former's mini-break to 4-1, only for it to be recovered due to his forehand error to 4-3. Several points later, V. Royer's working forehand to Vacherot's unforced error secured his set point (6-2) that even if it was saved to 6-3 thanks to Vacherot's forehand winner on his serve, it was insufficient because V. Royer still served it out to take the first set 7-6(3), setting himself one set away, technically, from the finals.

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Tunis Ch QF: Valentin Vacherot [1] def. Timofey Skatov [Q] 6-1, 6-2 Match Stats

📸 ATP official website

T. Skatov had his fair chances as he even had break points in the beginning of the match, but Vacherot adjusted quickly and tried to put the balls in, which successfully brought the former off-balance due to the frequent unforced errors as a result of getting outhit from the baseline. This might have explained his non-conversion of his 5 break points, while the match was fully on Vacherot's racquet as he broke 4 times out of his 9 chances throughout both sets.

Furthermore, Vacherot's dominance was also reflected through his service games. Scored 3 aces than T. Skatov's 1, the former won 9% more points from his first serves in hopes to get the latter off-balance. However, T. Skatov's 3 double faults did not help elevating his second serve winning percentage as the Kazakh qualifier's tendency to rush his final follow-up shots did not help except for some order that followed jets.

Tomorrow's semifinals could be dubbed as the "Battle of the Valentins" (not in February 14) since Vacherot will face Valentin Royer, who earlier defeated eighth seed Genaro Alberto Olivieri 6-1, 6-2 in another straightforward performance. This could be a decent test for both players' clay game, especially with the pacing, balance of power, and point construction needed to stand out in this match. It might be a tricky one, but who knows what at this point!

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📸 🎥 ATP official website

The second set turned out to be slightly more chaotic as Vacherot faced several break points thanks to T. Skatov's working forehands (a preceding one to the first seed's unforced error and another forehand winner to force the second deuce, notably) before the Monegasque held his serves to 2-2, which could have been important as the match progressed. This resulted in the further question to T. Skatov's balance, as the qualifier's backhand error generated Vacherot's latest break point before a forehand error secured the latter's break of serve to 3-2.

Subsequently, T. Skatov might have had some fair chances as Vacherot's backhands were being sought, one of which ended in a failed slice for the former's other break points, but Vacherot still managed to hold his serves to 4-2. From there, it all went downhill for T. Skatov as his double fault started fhe next game, which was continued by a third-shot forehand error and Vacherot's intuitive volley to T. Skatov's backhand pass fail for the first seed's initial break point before doubling the break to 5-2. As a result, Vacherot earned an opportunity to serve for the match, where even though his forehand errors saved some of the match points, Vacherot trusted his service game enough to take the second set 6-2, continuing his dominance to secure his spot in the semifinals.

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📸 ATP official website

Closing the singles quarterfinal action in the Tunis Challenger was the match between first seed Valentin Vacherot, who did his job against wild card Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 6-4 in the first round and breezed past Nick Hardt 6-1, 6-1 in the second round, and qualifier Timofey Skatov, who convincingly defeated Gijs Brouwer 6-2, 6-3 after previously stunning sixth seed Benjamin Bonzi 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. While this could have delivered in terms of their range and aggression, this ended up being an entirely different match when one was in control in this match.

Indeed, Vacherot might have had a nervy start as he faced a break point due to an unforced error, but he managed to stay steady from his forehand side before massively holding his serves to 1-0. Somehow, the Monegasque first seed earned and converted his chance due to T. Skatov's forehand errors before consolidating his lead to 3-0. Somehow, the latter's strokes became slightly more problematic as Vacherot tried to put the ball in, which was mostly the case as he outhit T. Skatov's forehand side, followed by a +1 backhand error that further questioned the latter's balance before the break got doubled to 4-0.

Without any further hesitation, Vacherot then strengthened his position with a service game hold to 5-0. Avoiding the bagel, T. Skatov smashed his way before holding his serves to 5-1, but it was insufficient to prevent more bakery products as Vacherot ended up serving the first-set breadstick (6-1) at the end, which further confirmed his aggression as this match progressed.

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Aix-en-Provence Ch SF: Alejandro Tabilo [3] def. Valentin Vacherot [Q] 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 Match Stats

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Vacherot tried his best to stand his ground as displayed in the first set, but Tabilo managed to stay consistent throughout the match. This way, the Chilean third seed managed to absorb some pace along the way, tricking Vacherot by executing some shots timely in a similar manner to shift the flow in his favor, including a crucial successful drop shot to break 4-3 in the third set, where he had not looked back since afterward. As a result, Tabilo generated 9 break points, converting 44% of them compared to Vacherot's one-seventh conversion rate from the first set.

Furthermore, each player might have their distinct service game strengths as the match progressed. Even though Vacherot fired 9 aces than Tabilo's 7, the Chilean had more effective first serve winning percentage at 80%, 17% more than Vacherot's 63%. However, even though the first serve seemed to carry majority of Tabilo's service games, Vacherot excelled more in his second serves despite double-faulting thrice with a 57% winning percentage, 13% more than Tabilo, but it was insufficient to keep himself in this match.

Jaume Munar awaits in tomorrow's finals, as he defeated fourth seed Roman Safiullin 7-6(4), 6-3 in a close contest, but he somehow appeared more aggressive as the match progressed. J. Munar turned out to defeat two more seeds in his journey to the final, which included fifth seed Marcos Giron and second seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and his aggression could be tested, as well as his point construction as his intuition could also play a part in a possibly fruitful clash tomorrow. Should be one of those exciting clashes for the day!

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Tabilo continued his fine form in the third set as both players tried to navigate their point construction. However, after benefiting from Vacherot's forehand error for the break point, the Chilean managed to break to 4-3 thanks to his successful drop shot. Even though Vacherot had a slight chance thanks to his working backhand pass, Tabilo still had the situation under control and consolidated his lead to 5-3.

However, things seemed to go downhill for Vacherot as his forehands kept getting outhit, one of those causing Tabilo's 2-point lead before having to face a match point. Somehow, a misfire happened and so did the double fault, and Tabilo broke for the match to 6-3, thus securing his spot to tomorrow's finals.

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However, the second set became a contrast of the first as Tabilo managed to regain his range from the baseline. This time, another functional cross-court backhand of his kicked off his second set before outhitting Vacherot's forehand side, which became effective as Tabilo ended up breaking early to 2-0. He then consolidated his lead to 3-0, followed by Vacherot putting his name on the board with a service game hold to 3-1.

Subsequently, Vacherot had a fair chance as he passed his forehand through various means, including a down-the-line one that outhit Tabilo and cross-court forehand winner to secure another deuce, but even if he had several break points beforehand, Tabilo scored a massive hold to 4-1. This ended up to be a crucial hold as his backhand pass then got to Vacherot's erratic forehand side, which also contributed to his one-point lead before doubling the break to 5-1. As a result, Tabilo earned an opportunity to serve for the second-set breadstick, which he eventually did (6-1) to bring this match to a deciding set.

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📸 ATP official website

Concluding the play in the Aix-en-Provence Challenger was the match between qualifier Valentin Vacherot, who confidently stunned Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4 to close the previous day's play, and third seed Alejandro Tabilo, who advanced due to qualifier Facundo Bagnis' retirement down 0-6 in the quarterfinals. This ended up being a topsy-turvy match, with the more consistent player prevailing at the end of the match, considering their similar approach in constructing their points.

Vacherot might have had a nervy start to the match as Tabilo won the first point thanks to the latter's preceding forehand, followed by a backhand pass to secure his other one-point lead. This resulted in the former having to face some break points, but one of those was saved with an ace, thus helping him to hold his serves to 1-0. It took several more games before the Monegasque qualifier scored a running forehand winner to set up his one-point lead right at the first point of the fourth game, where he ended up breaking to 3-1 due to Tabilo's unforced errors. Vacherot followed this up by consolidating his serves to 4-1.

The Chilean third seed then had a slight chance in the seventh game as his backhand pass once again secured his break point, but Vacherot still saved them before holding his served to 5-2. He almost broke for the first set after an intuitive volley paved his way to, but he had his set point fumbled before Tabilo held his serves to 5-3. As a result, Vacherot had to serve for the first set, which he successfully did after securing his set point through a drop shot, followed by an ace to take the first set 6-3 to set himself closer to the final.