Valentin Vacherot secured his place in the Swiss Indoors Basel quarterfinals with a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (5) victory over third seed Rafael Jódar on Thursday 29th October.
The win required two tie-breaks and a third-set recovery from Vacherot, who resisted the Spaniard’s challenge to advance in the ATP 500 tournament.
VACHEROT TAKES THE OPENER
There was little separating the players in the opening set, with Jódar unable to convert three opportunities to break Vacherot’s serve. The set ultimately reached a tie-break, where Vacherot established the advantage, winning it 7-4.
Jódar responded strongly in the second set. An early break put him in control, and he went on to take it 6-2, bringing the match level and forcing a decisive third set.
THIRD-SET RESPONSE
The momentum initially remained with Jódar, who broke serve again to move ahead in the third set. Vacherot, however, prevented him from extending his lead, immediately breaking back.
Another difficult moment followed at 4-4, when Vacherot faced two break points at 15-40. He saved both to hold serve, keeping himself in contention as the match moved towards its second tie-break.
Even there, the outcome remained uncertain. Jódar led 5-4, putting himself within two points of victory, before Vacherot claimed three consecutive points to seal his place in the quarterfinals.
RUNE AWAITS IN QUARTERFINALS
Vacherot finished having saved eight of the 11 break points he faced, while converting one of his three opportunities against Jódar’s serve. His success in both tie-breaks proved to be the decisive factor.
Moving ahead, Vacherot will face Denmark’s Holger Rune in the last eight on Friday 30th October. heir only previous meeting came in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals in 2025, when Vacherot fought back to win 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
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Photo source: ATP Tour