It's been a memorable world-wind trip to the Rolex Shanghai Masters for Melanie-Antoinette de Massy, president of the Monegasque Tennis Federation, Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
De Massy arrived in Shanghai at midday Friday after a 20-hour trip from Monaco with Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters tournament director David Massey.
On Saturday, de Massy sat in Valentin Vacherot's guest box along with Massey to see her countryman defeat four-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion and World No. 5 Novak Djokovic. Twenty-four hours later, de Massy was back in Vacherot's box to see history being made as the 26-year-old rallied from a set down to defeat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and become the first player from Monaco in the Open Era to win an ATP Tour singles title.
"I am so, so proud of him and there's really no words that come to mind to describe really the feelings throughout the match," said de Massy. "He played incredibly well and the match was fantastic. We saw really some amazing points, fantastic tennis and I'm so glad to be here. I'm so glad to live this moment with him and so happy to see this historical final."
De Massy's phone has been receiving nonstop messages from well wishers back home as well as interview requests. Avid tennis fan Prince Albert II of Monaco followed closely Vacherot's historic run in Shanghai and was messaging de Massy before and during the championship match.
During the final, de Massy said she received several WhatsApp messages from Prince Albert II and afterwards he spoke to her along with Vacherot.
"We spoke for 10 to 15 minutes after the match and he was so thrilled, then Prince Albert spoke to Val for about 10 minutes," said de Massy, who received close to 100 messages after the final. "He was very touched by Val's words in the award ceremony and was proud of Val's results. The Prince gave interviews to the local press and congratulated the work of the Federation. The whole country is proud."
David Massey and Melanie-Antoinette de Massy supporting Vacherot in Shanghai. Photo: Rolex Shanghai Masters.
There was a watch party at the Monte-Carlo Country Club with members and many of the top junior players in Monaco. The marketplace showed the match at 10:30 in the morning on a massive screen that was organised by the Monaco Town Hall, similar to what is done for the Formula 1 race in Monte-Carlo.
"I turned on my phone, but I haven't really watched anything yet," said Vacherot. "I can't wait to watch the videos, especially at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. I knew they had a big watch party. Because it's Sunday, everyone is off work, so I think this probably the day there is the most people."
Shortly after the final ended, Vacherot draped the Monaco flag over his shoulders before the award ceremony began. He reflected on his historic achievement and what it means for his country.
"Just to hold the flag, and to be able to do that for my country is, it's unreal, of course," said Vacherot, who climbed from No. 204 to No. 40 in the PIF ATP Rankings. "I'm just thinking about our little federation, our little small country, one of the smallest countries in the world. Probably the smallest federation. We have such, we have not many players, and now we have one Masters 1000 in singles, two Masters 1000 titles in doubles with Hugo Nys — also one Grand Slam final for Hugo in the Australian Open two years ago — and what we get to achieve for Monaco is unbelievable. I hope that we're making everyone proud of us, and I hope just to keep going."
Nys is ranked No. 19 in doubles and has been a career-high No. 12 in June 2023. He won his biggest title at ATP Masters 1000 Rome that year and also was a finalist at the Australian Open in 2023. Romain Arneodo, a winner of two doubles titles this season, is ranked No. 45 in doubles after reaching a career-high No. 38 in August.
Earlier this year at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April, French-born Monegasque player Arneodo made history by winning the doubles title with Frenchman Manuel Guinard. Arneodo became the first Monegasque player to win the Monte-Carlo doubles title.
"For Monaco it's absolutely extraordinary and we've never had a Monaco-born player in the Top 100 in singles," said de Massy. "We've had, as Valentin said at the end of his semi-final match — and I really appreciated that he did that — is to remind everyone that in tennis there's singles, but there's also doubles, and we have extraordinary double players. In Monaco we love playing Davis Cup because we love being a team, we love being all together and with Monaco Tennis Federation — and Monaco tennis as a whole actually, whether it's the tournament, the federation, or the club — is one big family."
Half-brother and coach Benjamin Balleret instilled the belief in Valentin that he would break into the Top 100 and then take it to a higher level.
"When we were putting goals for Val it was not only Top 100, because it seems a little, like, 'Oh, for some guys, we just want to be Top 100'," said Balleret, who ranked a career-high No. 204 in 2006. "No, it's like, 'Let's go. We want to be Top 50, Top 30'. You have more, even more ambition. So our role as the coach and all the team is to be behind him and to push him and to tell him that he believes that he can be a top-50 player. Because I think so many players stop believing."
