Luca Van Assche won his quarterfinal at the Paris Masters against Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-7, 7-5, booking his place in the semifinal. For both players, it was the first Masters 1000 quarterfinal of their careers. Van Assche was pushed the full distance but ultimately came through after 2 hours and 45 minutes against the Australian qualifier.
Van Assche made a strong start count
The Paris-born home favourite settled into the match more quickly and took the opening set 6-4. Van Assche pressured Hijikata from the baseline and built the foundation for his lead on that platform. The result carried special meaning for the Frenchman: even reaching the quarterfinal had been a childhood dream of his.
The backdrop added further intrigue to this particular contest. Van Assche, ranked 47th in the world at the time of the match, had previously beaten Lorenzo Musetti on his way here. Hijikata, the world No. 83, had come through qualifying and along the way eliminated both Novak Djokovic and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Hijikata forced a deciding set
In the second set, Rinky Hijikata remained composed and pushed the issue to a tiebreak. The Australian came through it 7-4 to take the set 7-6, levelling the match after Van Assche had appeared to have the upper hand.
The match statistics illustrated why the two players were so evenly matched. Van Assche held serve in 88 percent of his service games and won 66 percent of points on his own serve. He was particularly efficient on his first serve, winning 78 percent of those points.
Drama until the final set
The lead changed hands several times in the third set. Van Assche stayed aggressive throughout and punctuated his performance with a backhand passing winner at a key moment. Hijikata kept fighting but could not find a way to claim the deciding set.
Van Assche closed it out 7-5 to complete his semifinal berth. The Frenchman finished the match with 19 unforced errors compared to 41 from Hijikata. He also struck 13 aces and came out ahead on winners overall.
For Hijikata, it was the end of a remarkable run in Paris. The qualifier had already accumulated 16 wins on Tour in 2026 and made a real impression in the French capital. Van Assche prevailed in their first ATP Tour meeting and confirmed his arrival on the biggest Masters stage.
