Valentin Vacherot Beats Baez to Open Shanghai Defense

Valentin Vacherot is back on the court where he made history, and his Shanghai Masters title defense is off and running. The 17th seed beat Sebastian Baez 6-4, 7-6(5) on Saturday night, per the ATP Tour, firing 15 aces and 25 winners along the way, according to Tennis Temple.

The stakes are big for the 27-year-old from Monaco. A year ago he became the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion ever, winning this event as the world No. 204. He is now competing at a career-high No. 14, but he sits at No. 32 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, so every round here is protecting points he earned on that wild run.

A nervy finish on center court

Vacherot looked in control for most of the night. He took the first set 6-4 and served for the match at 5-3 in the second, but Baez broke back and dragged it to a tiebreak. Vacherot closed that out 7-5 and moved on.

"I knew tonight was not going to be easy at all, to come back to this centre court where so much happened a year ago," Vacherot said, per the ATP. "Especially against someone like Sebastian, who competes and puts so many balls in the court. In the second set, I had everything under control, but he fought well. I'm happy with my tie-break."

Baez is a tough opener for anyone. He grinds, he makes you hit one more ball, and on a quick Shanghai court that can get uncomfortable fast when the first serve dips. Vacherot's serve bailed him out when it needed to.

Tommy Paul is next

The next test is a big one. Vacherot faces 15th seed Tommy Paul, the world No. 18, who cruised through his own opener 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday. It will be their first ATP head-to-head meeting.

Paul brings a lot more firepower than Baez, and he moves as well as anyone in that range of the rankings. If Vacherot keeps serving like he did against Baez, he has a real shot. If the first-serve percentage slips, Paul is good enough to make him pay.

Alcaraz could be waiting

Win that and things get loud. Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday and plays Zizou Bergs next, which sets up a possible fourth-round meeting with Vacherot, per the ATP.

Alcaraz is on a seven-match win streak after defending his Tokyo title, and Shanghai is one of three Masters 1000 events he has never won. That matchup would be the defending champ against the guy everyone expects to take his crown.

Other seeds who got through Saturday include Felix Auger-Aliassime, who rallied past Camilo Ugo Carabelli 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-5, and Daniil Medvedev, who came back to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, per the official tournament results.

Last year Vacherot was the story nobody saw coming. Get past Tommy Paul, and he gets the chance to prove it was no fluke against the biggest name in the draw.