Vacherot beats Fritz 7-6, 6-3 to reach Basel final against Lehecka, leaving the American's ATP Finals hopes in trouble
Valentin Vacherot beat Taylor Fritz 7-6(5), 6-3 to reach the Basel final against Jiri Lehecka, a result that leaves Fritz 314 points short in the Turin race.
At a glance
- Valentin Vacherot beat sixth seed Taylor Fritz 7-6(5), 6-3 in about 1 hour 26 minutes to reach the Swiss Indoors Basel final on Saturday, October 31, 2026.
- He is the first player from Monaco in a Basel final, and it is his first final at ATP 500 level.
- He plays eighth seed Jiri Lehecka, who beat Jan-Lennard Struff 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, on Sunday.
- Fritz stays 12th in the race to Turin on 2,895 points, 314 behind Rafael Jodar, who holds the last qualifying place.
Valentin Vacherot beat Taylor Fritz 7-6(5), 6-3 in Basel on Saturday to reach his first final of the season, and the first by a player from Monaco at the Swiss Indoors. He plays eighth seed Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, while Fritz leaves with his hopes of the ATP Finals in Turin fading.
Lehecka came from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the other semi-final.
A 1-4 hole in the tiebreak, then six points out of seven
Neither man offered much on return in the opening set. Vacherot trailed 4-1 in the tiebreak, then won six of the next seven points and took the set on his first chance after 51 minutes.
The second set turned at 4-3. After saving a break point in his first service game, Vacherot broke on his third opportunity of that game, then served for the match. Fritz saved two match points before the third one went. The serve held up throughout: the player from Monaco said you could only hope on the returns against someone of Fritz's quality, and that he had guessed well on the break.
| Vacherot v Fritz | Vacherot | Fritz |
|---|---|---|
| Sets | 7-6(5), 6-3 | |
| Aces | 10 | 11 |
| Winners | 26 | 20 |
| First-serve points won | 78% | - |
| Service games held | 10 of 11 | - |
The match took about 1 hour 26 minutes, and levelled their head-to-head at 1-1 after Fritz won their first-round match in Basel last year.
A path through three seeded or big-name opponents
The run in Basel follows a long gap. Vacherot's breakthrough came at the 2025 Shanghai Masters, when he won the title as a qualifier by beating Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. He reached a career-high 17th in the world in April 2026, but had played no final this season until now, and goes into Sunday with a 25-17 record for the year. The win over Fritz was his sixth this season against a top-20 player.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|
| First | Mariano Navone | 6-3, 7-6(4) |
| Second | Rafael Jodar (3) | 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(5) |
| Quarter-final | Holger Rune | 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 |
| Semi-final | Taylor Fritz (6) | 7-6(5), 6-3 |
What the defeat does to Fritz's Turin chances
With Jannik Sinner out for the rest of the season, ninth place in the race is now the last ticket to the season-ending ATP Finals. Spain's Rafael Jodar holds that place on 3,209 points, and Fritz is 12th on 2,895. Reaching the final would have given him 3,025 points, and the title 3,195, which would still have left him just short.
That leaves the Paris Masters next week as his main chance. Fritz has played four finals this year without winning a title, most recently losing to Lorenzo Musetti in Lyon, 6-3, 6-4. Arthur Fils, another Turin hopeful, retired hurt against him in the Basel quarter-finals with a back problem.
Jodar, meanwhile, is guaranteed his top-10 debut when the new rankings come out on Monday.
Sunday's final, then Djokovic in Paris
The final on Sunday, November 1, is due not before 3:30 pm in Basel, which is 7:30 pm in Pakistan. Whoever wins, Vacherot has little time to rest: he is drawn to meet Novak Djokovic in the first round of the Paris Masters next week.
