Valentin Vacherot earns another Masters 1000 win over cousin Arthur Rinderknech, in Paris

Valentin Vacherot has come out on top in a deciding set at an ATP Masters 1000 event against his cousin—again.

Reunited with Arthur Rinderknech after outdueling the Frenchman to win Shanghai, Vacherot upped his 1000-level main-draw win streak to nine with another come-from-behind victory Wednesday—this time in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters.

The 26-year-old rallied, 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4, putting the disappointment of two missed set points in the tiebreak behind him to progress in a wide-open section of the draw.

🖥️📲 The Match in 15 Minutes: Vacherot vs. Rinderknech, Paris

In the deciding set, Vacherot had to dig in after seeing his early break wiped away. At 3-3, he fell behind 0-40 on serve when Rinderknech ripped a crosscourt forehand winner. Vacherot roared back with a string of much-needed first serves, later helped by Rinderknech's routine backhand miss on his third break point.

Exclusive Interview: Patrick Kypson, former college teammate of Vacherot and Rinderknech

After holding, the Monegasque pushed his opponent to deuce and in his following return game, ended the contest on his second match point when Rinderknech couldn’t find the target on a forehand passing shot. The home favorite finished with a -18 differential in winners to unforced errors, while Vacherot capped his day at La Defense Arena with a 32 to 38 ratio.

“In the middle of the third, I didn’t handle the break I did well at all,” Vacherot admitted afterwards to ATP Media. “Of course I’m surprising myself in some ways, playing in front of so many people.”

“I’m just enjoying so much. I think the crowd deserved their final of Shanghai.”

For a quarterfinal spot, Vacherot meets Cameron Norrie. The left-hander knocked world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz out Tuesday by mounting a comeback from a set down.

With eighth seed Casper Ruud’s loss to Daniel Altmaier, if Felix Auger-Aliassime goes down to Alexandre Muller, an unseeded player from the top quarter will be sent through to the semifinals. If that scenario pans out, Vacherot has a strong case to be the prohibitive favorite.