Valentin Vacherot produced another sensational victory at the Shanghai Masters as he upset Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, but is he the lowest-ranked player to defeat the 24-time Grand Slam winner?
Sitting at No 204 in the ATP Rankings before the start of the tournament, Vacherot was initially an alternate in the qualifying but he got a last-minute entry and then won his two matches to reach the main draw.
The 26-year-old then became the first player from Monaco to reach the semi-final of an ATP Masters 1000 event after securing upset after upset as he defeated 14th seed Alexander Bublik, 20th seed Tomas Machac and 27th seed Tallon Griekspoor en route to the quarter-final.
In the last eight, he stunned 10th seed Holger Rune to set up a clash against former world No 1 Djokovic and he then pulled off the biggest upset of his career as he defeated the legend 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 41 minutes in hot and humid conditions in Shanghai.
So where does he slot in in terms of Djokovic’s worst-ever defeats to lower-ranked players?
1. Filip Krajinovic – No 319
The honour of the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic goes to his fellow Serbian Krajinovic as he was at No 319 when he took on the tennis great on the clay at the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade in 2010.
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Djokovic was ranked at No 2 at the time and Krajinovic won the opening set 6-4 before his compatriot retired with breathing problems.
2. Reilly Opelka – No 293
The big-serving Opelka, though, holds the record as the lowest-ranked player to win a completed match against Djokovic and that achievement came at the 2025 Brisbane International.
Former world No 17 Opelka had struggled with form and injury the previous year, but he caused the biggest upset of his career when he defeated the 24-time Grand Slam winner 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.
3. Valentin Vacherot – No 204
The man from Monaco is now the third-lowest-ranked player to beat the all-time great in a tennis match.
He does have the distinction of being the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, as Luca Nardi previously held that record.
The Italian was at No 123 in the rankings when he defeated the Serbian in the round of 32 at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters.
4. Daniel Gimeno-Traver – No 178th
Before Opelka and Vacherot, Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver was the lowest-ranked player to win a completed match against Djokovic, but that took place early during the Serbian’s career.
Djokovic was ranked at No 66 when Gimeno-Traver defeated him 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 at the Barcelona Open.
In terms of Djokovic’s worst loss at Grand Slam level, Denis Istomin was at No 117 in the ATP Rankings when he defeated the Serbian in the round of 64 at the 2017 Australian Open.
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