A year on from the night Djokovic was stunned in Shanghai, the Paris Masters draw has sent him straight back to the same opponent. Vacherot, the qualifier who beat him 6-3, 6-4 in that semifinal on 11 October 2025 on his way to the Shanghai final, is the man standing in Djokovic’s path in the first round at La Défense.

The pairing was still fresh on Friday when Pioline told Yahoo Sports via Tennishead that he wanted the next ten days framed around a single storyline.

“I think the message is: let’s make the most of it. Let’s make the most of Novak, because if it’s not his last appearance here, it’s maybe his second-to-last,” Pioline said.

Djokovic is the tournament’s record holder with seven Paris titles. He arrives seeded tenth and ranked 12th, which is itself the signal Pioline’s remark was trying to put into words.

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Vacherot, a year after Shanghai

The 2025 Shanghai semifinal was no routine upset. The Serbian, then the fourth seed, took medical timeouts in both sets and could not match the Monégasque’s drop shots and long rallies. Vacherot, then ranked 204 in the world, became the lowest-ranked player ever to reach a Masters 1000 final, and he went on to lift the title against his cousin Arthur Rinderknech.

Vacherot is back in the headlines this week. He reached the Basel final with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 semifinal win over Taylor Fritz and was due to face Jiří Lehecka for the title on Sunday. Djokovic was already out of Basel by that point, beaten 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (5) by Jan-Lennard Struff on Thursday 29 October, according to the Associated Press.

Turin race adds the pressure

Pioline also pointed to the ATP Finals in Turin, where qualification for the top eight is still unsettled. “There’s a lot of nervousness, a lot at stake and a lot of desire for these players to finish in the top eight,” he said at the ceremony.

The Basel defeat left Djokovic’s Turin hopes hanging on his Paris result, with La Défense his last counting event of the season. A deep run would keep the race alive; an early exit against Vacherot would effectively close the door.

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The farewell framing is Pioline’s. Djokovic has not set a retirement date and no departure plan is on the record.

Djokovic’s first-round meeting with Vacherot is scheduled for Monday 2 November or Tuesday 3 November at the Plenitude Arena in La Défense, where the Rolex Paris Masters runs through 8 November.

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