Rinky Hijikata has turned a surprise win over Novak Djokovic into his first ATP Masters quarterfinal, showing he can sustain his level after a career-defining result. The Australian, who entered the Paris event through qualifying, rallied past world number 31 Tomas Martin Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. That follow-up matters: an upset can draw attention, but another demanding win shows whether a player can manage the pressure and adjust when the next opponent presents a different test.
The run has lifted the 25-year-old from Sydney into the world’s top 60 for the first time. He began the tournament ranked 83rd and has beaten five players ranked above him. A win in the quarterfinal would take him to number 48, a sharp change in position built during one event. Rankings capture the result, though not the work behind it: Hijikata has had to come through qualifying and then keep producing across successive matches.
A comeback built point by point
Etcheverry controlled the opening set, taking it in 26 minutes. Hijikata lost the first eight points, then struggled to hold serve as his opponent established an early lead. The start left little room for a gradual recovery; he had to stop the slide before he could turn the match into a contest.
The second set offered a reset. Hijikata fought off a break point in a 12-minute opening game, then broke Etcheverry in the fourth. He protected that advantage through the set, which he claimed in 43 minutes. The long first game was an early test of patience: after falling behind so quickly, a break there could have put the match beyond reach. Instead, he made Etcheverry work for the opening and then converted his own opportunity.
The decider stayed on serve until 5-5. Hijikata had to save three break points earlier, at 1-2, and had yet to create a break chance of his own. When one finally came in the 11th game, he took it. That was the match’s narrowest turning point. Serving for the match, he opened with an ace and closed out the contest after Etcheverry drew level at 15-all, finishing with a cross-court forehand smash. He’d moved from defending under pressure to taking his chance when it arrived.
His celebration caught the attention of former American top-40 player and television pundit Ryan Harrison: “He is a guy who is typically mild-mannered; he's as fired up as I've ever seen him before.” The reaction hints at how much the result meant, but the more revealing detail is the sequence that came before it: Hijikata absorbed pressure, kept the deciding set level, then finished when he earned an opening.
A tough home crowd awaits
Hijikata’s next opponent is Frenchman Luca Van Assche, ranked 47th. They have never played each other. Van Assche advanced by beating Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, then found another gear after facing two break points at 3-4 in the final set, winning 12 of the next 13 points. Hijikata will face a Paris crowd behind the local favourite. The contrast is clear: both players have had to withstand pressure late in matches, and neither can rely on a previous head-to-head to offer a template.
Playing a local favourite adds noise and expectation to the contest, though the match still turns on the same basic demands: serve well, manage break points and make the decisive moments count. Hijikata’s comeback against Etcheverry offers evidence he can handle a tight finish, but Van Assche’s recovery against Musetti shows he has done the same. If you're working in this space, the matchup is a useful reminder that a ranking gap or a fresh run of form can only say so much about a single match.
The other quarterfinalists include Americans Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton, who came through against French opponents. Twelfth seed Paul beat Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, while third seed Shelton recovered from a set down to defeat Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Their results underline how many close contests have shaped this part of the draw: Paul needed a tiebreak in the first set, and Shelton had to settle the match in one in the third.
Carlos Alcaraz advanced by walkover after Matteo Berrettini withdrew from their scheduled evening match with arm pain. The second seed will meet Taylor Fritz, who beat Arthur Fils 6-3, 6-4. Portuguese lucky loser Nuno Borges, a 6-0, 6-2 winner over Ignacio Buse, is set to face Casper Ruud or Jan-Lennard Struff. The draw has therefore produced several different paths into the quarterfinals, from straight-set wins to three-set recoveries and a walkover.
What this run changes
For Hijikata, the quarterfinal is a chance to extend a run that has already reshaped his ranking and established him as more than a one-match upset story. The numbers here are striking, but they’re not a guarantee of what comes next; one tournament can change a player’s standing quickly, while proving that level over time takes repeated results.
This is more significant than it looks. A player who enters through qualifying and then beats higher-ranked opponents has shown he can navigate more than one kind of pressure, from the need to build momentum to the demand of closing a close match. The test against Van Assche will add another layer: a local opponent, a home crowd and a place in the semifinal at stake. And yet. Hijikata has already made the result that once looked like the story only the beginning of a deeper run.
AAP
