It’s that time of year. Autumn, when Valentin Vacherot reminds the world that he is not only a world-class player with a booming game, but also a big-match performer who knows how to win meaningful titles.
The 27-year-old Vacherot made the first day of November a special one on Sunday, closing the 50th edition of the Swiss Indoors Basel by claiming his second ATP title with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Jiri Lehecka.
It was not looking great for Vacherot early on.
“How did he win this match?” said Gilles Muller, who called the match alongside Lee Goodall on Tennis TV, as the camera showed Vacherot hugging his team before panning to an extremely disappointed Lehecka in his chair, towel over his head.
“An hour ago he was done with this match, he was upset, he was talking a lot between points – this is gonna hurt for Lehecka, he was in total control of this match, one bad game and it completely changed.”
Vacherot dropped four straight games to trail 4-1, down a double break in the opener, and was visibly frustrated with himself. Lehecka took the set easily from there.
Meanwhile, Vacherot and his coach Benjamin Balleret bickered until the coach finally decided to get up and let his player handle things on his own. Vacherot, who became the first player from Monaco to win the prestigious title in Basel, later apologized for his bad attitude, but the pair had plenty to celebrate by the end of the afternoon.
“I felt like I was playing a ball machine for a little while, and I was starting to get really, really frustrated,” Vacherot said on court.
The tide turned when Vacherot broke through for 3-1 in the second set. The Monegasque made the break stand, saving a pair of break points in the ninth game as he served out the middle set to force a decider.
“I played a good game to break at 2-1, and from there it was a totally different match,” Vacherot said.
Vacherot broke quickly in set three, with Lehecka ending a strange game that featured four backhand errors with a drop shot that fell harmlessly into the net. Vacherot again made the break stand, wiggling out of trouble while serving at 3-2.
“I’m super disappointed,” said Lehecka during the trophy presentation. “Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be today.”
Lehecka drops to 2-7 in ATP finals, and 0-3 at 500-level.
Vacherot improves to 9-1 indoors this season, and 2-1 lifetime against Lehecka.
“I hit really good shots at the right moment, and I think sometimes it’s not about just playing perfect the whole match. It’s just playing good when it matters,” Vacherot said.
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