Luca Van Assche beats Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5 in the Paris Masters quarter-finals on Friday 6 November to reach the first Masters 1000 semi-final of his career. He faces Ben Shelton (No. 3). In the other semi-final, Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2), who saves two match points against Taylor Fritz, meets Casper Ruud.
What came next: Shelton ends Van Assche's run in the semi-finals, Alcaraz - Shelton in the final.
How did Luca Van Assche beat Rinky Hijikata?
In 2hr 44min on Court Central. Van Assche takes the only break of the first set at 4-4. In the second he comes back from a break down and saves break points in two long service games at 3-3 and 4-4, but Hijikata leads the tie-break 6-2 and wins it 7-4.
Down 2-0 in the decider, Van Assche fights back. At 6-5, with Hijikata serving to stay in the match, a forehand passing shot from the Frenchman and a double fault from the Australian give Van Assche three match points, and he takes the first as Hijikata puts a last backhand volley into the net. The Frenchman hits 13 aces and makes only 20 unforced errors, against 41 for his opponent.
A little tired after the match, a day after his win over Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16, Van Assche admits that losing the second set and the start of the third were hard, and says he is happy to have turned the situation around in Paris. Ranked 47th in the world, he is guaranteed to move into the top 35.
Hijikata, ranked 83rd at the start of the week and the man who knocked out Novak Djokovic in the second round, leaves Paris with a career-high ranking inside the top 60.
What are the other quarter-final results?
- Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) beats Taylor Fritz (No. 11) 6-7(10), 7-5, 6-3 in 2hr 45min. Fritz wins the first set on a 12-10 tie-break, then has two match points in the second, which the Spaniard saves. Fritz's defeat qualifies Rafael Jodar for the ATP Finals in Turin.
- Ben Shelton (No. 3) beats Tommy Paul (No. 12) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in 1hr 46min to reach his first semi-final in Paris. His win sends Frances Tiafoe to Turin.
- Casper Ruud beats Portuguese lucky loser Nuno Borges 7-6(5), 6-4 in 1hr 32min, two weeks after losing to him in Basel.
What is the semi-final schedule?
Saturday 7 November, on Court Central: Luca Van Assche - Ben Shelton, not before 2:30pm, then Casper Ruud - Carlos Alcaraz, not before 5pm. The final is on Sunday 8 November.
Sources
ATP Tour — Rolex Paris Masters 2026, tableau du simple
Perfect Tennis — Paris Masters 2026 Day Five Quarter Final Recap