Luca Van Assche, the 47th-ranked player, has advanced to his first-ever Masters 1000 semifinal at the Rolex Paris Masters, overcoming qualifier Rinky Hijikata in a dramatic three-set thriller. Van Assche defeated Hijikata 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5 after two hours and 44 minutes of play.
Two years after Ugo Humbert, another Frenchman is back in the semifinals of the Paris tournament, and it’s a surprise to many. Van Assche had never won a single match at this event before this 2026 edition, falling in the qualifying rounds in 2021 and 2025 and in the first round of the main draw in 2023.
AU COURAGE 🔥#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/4vPubi8AT0
This victory caps off a remarkable week for Van Assche, who has beaten higher-ranked players. He was coming off wins against Mariano Navone, Learner Tien, and Lorenzo Musetti to reach the quarterfinals. His opponent, Hijikata, the 83rd-ranked qualifier, was also in exceptional form, having secured five wins, including a victory over Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament.
Match Turns on a Tense Third Set
The match swung back and forth, with Van Assche initially controlling the proceedings before Hijikata fought back to force a decider. Van Assche dominated the opening set, which lasted just 40 minutes. He relied on a particularly precise serve, hitting five aces and winning 85% of points behind his first serve, to close out the set 6-4.
The second set was a different story. Hijikata, known for his comebacks—he rallied from a set down against Djokovic and Etcheverry earlier in the week—took control. He broke Van Assche’s serve early and built a 3-1 lead. Despite the pressure, Van Assche fought back, drawing support from the crowd in the Plenitude Arena to level the set at 4-4. The set ultimately went to a tie-break, which Hijikata won 7-4 to even the match at one set all.
The third set became a battle of attrition. Hijikata broke Van Assche’s serve at the start to go up 2-0, but the Frenchman refused to yield. He dug deep, fighting back to 2-2 and then 4-4. Van Assche’s resilience was key; he produced 14 winners in the final set to turn the tide. The decisive moment came in the final game. With Van Assche serving at 6-5, he created three championship points. Hijikata’s nerves showed, as he committed a costly double fault at 0-30, handing Van Assche the match. A final, aggressive passing shot sealed the win.
A Meteoric Rise for Van Assche
Van Assche’s journey to the semifinals is as impressive as his on-court performance. One year ago, at the start of November 2025, he was ranked outside the top 170 in the world, competing primarily in Challenger tournaments to regain his footing on the ATP circuit.
Following his win, Van Assche commented on the challenging nature of the match. “It was an incredible match again, just like all the ones I’ve played since the beginning,” he told Eurosport. “I had opponents who didn’t make it easy for me. Today, Rinky played a superb match. He has a very offensive game, he’s very good at the net, and on a fast surface like this, it wasn’t easy to maneuver him. I’m very happy with how I managed the third set; the beginning was very complicated, I quickly found myself down 2-0, but again, I managed to draw on my resources to get through it.”
Next Challenge: Ben Shelton
Van Assche’s reward for his gritty performance is a place in the semifinals against the world No. 4, Ben Shelton. The Frenchman acknowledged the difficulty of the upcoming match. “Today, I had a good tactic but I dropped my rhythm at certain moments. I’ll have to do better tomorrow to trouble him,” he said.
This Paris run is already a career-best for Van Assche. With this week’s performance, he is virtually 34th in the world.
Worth a look
