Luca Van Assche, the 22-year-old Frenchman ranked No. 47 in the world, defeated Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the Rolex Paris Masters on Friday, punching his ticket to the semifinals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career — a stage he had never reached beyond two rounds at this level before this week, Le Figaro reported.
The match lasted 2 hours and 44 minutes at Paris La Défense Arena in Nanterre, where Van Assche, backed by a home crowd, erased an early deficit in the deciding set to close out the match with a love game after Hijikata double-faulted and then mishit a volley at the net on match point.
Hijikata’s Run Ends After Djokovic Upset
The 25-year-old Hijikata, ranked No. 83 and playing as a qualifier, had been the surprise of the tournament even before Friday: he stunned Novak Djokovic in the second round, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. But against Van Assche, the Australian could not sustain his level over the full distance, Le Figaro reported.
THEY LEFT IT ALL ON THE COURT. LUCA VAN ASSCHE WINS IT 😱🔥#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/cZAXdZPjwP
Van Assche took the opening set 6-4 on the strength of his serve. The second set went to a tiebreak after Van Assche, trailing 0-3, clawed back to 3-3 by forcing errors from Hijikata and holding serve to love. Hijikata ultimately prevailed in the tiebreak, recovering from 2-6 down to 4-6 and converting a third set point.
Deciding Set Swings on Van Assche’s Nerve
The third set began badly for the Frenchman, who was broken immediately and trailed 0-2. He broke back to 2-2, then twice found himself one game from victory — at 5-4 and again at 6-5. The second chance was the one that counted: after a double fault from Hijikata and a missed volley at the net, Van Assche served out the match without facing a break point.
Semifinal Against World No. 4 Ben Shelton on Saturday
Van Assche will face American Ben Shelton, the world No. 4, in the semifinals on Saturday. A win would send him to his first Masters 1000 final — and would make him the first French champion at the Paris event since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lifted the trophy in 2008, Le Figaro reported.
