"I follow my cousin": Arthur Rinderknech joins Valentin Vacherot in Shanghai semifinals

It’s all in the family at the Rolex Shanghai Masters!

A day after qualifier Valentin Vacherot upstaged Holger Rune in the quarterfinals, cousin Arthur Rinderknech joined him in the final four to continue his own career best run.

Rinderknech outpaced Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-3, 6-4, to book his first semifinal above the ATP 250 level.

🖥️📲 The Match in 15 Minutes: Rinderknech vs. Auger-Aliassime, Shanghai

The 30-year-old did not drop serve against the No. 12 seed, recovering from 0-40 in the fourth game of the second set to deny Auger-Aliassime any hope of digging back into the encounter. Rinderknech served it out at 15 to avenge earlier season defeats in Mallorca and Cincinnati for his seventh win in his last 10 matches against Top 20 opponents.

“First of all, I follow my cousin. He’s going through the emotions and I’m trying to battle to follow and do as good as him,” he shared with ATP Media afterwards.

“It’s been incredible since the beginning of the week. The whole family is following from home. We are in our little world here of our own. It’s been unreal. Today is a good performance for myself. Happy to get the win. Two sets so I cannot be too tired for tomorrow, that’s great.”

As a result, Rinderknech has clinched himself a Top 40 debut when the latest ATP rankings are published Monday. He is the first French semifinalist in Shanghai since Gilles Simon progressed this far nine years earlier.

Rinderknech now awaits the winner of Alex de Minaur and Daniil Medvedev for a shot at lifting his first tour-level trophy. Vacherot will take the court first Saturday against four-time champion Novak Djokovic.

➡️ READ: Vacherot stuns Rune to extend improbable run

Auger-Aliassime's bid to gain ground in the race to Turin ends for the time being, as his attention shifts to the season's final indoor hard-court swing. The US Open semifinalist trails Lorenzo Musetti by 530 points for the eighth qualifying spot to the ATP Finals. Musetti and Auger-Aliassime are projected to be the top two seeds at the ATP 250 in Brussels next week.