Rinky Hijikata Shines in Paris with Quarterfinal Victory
Rinky Hijikata walked into Paris as a qualifier. He now stands as a Masters quarterfinalist, a top-60 player for the first time, and the man who has followed a win over Novak Djokovic with another scalp that proves it was no one-off.
The 25-year-old Australian dug himself out of a deep hole to beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the world No.31 and the player who had bundled out Alex de Minaur, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, in a tense, three-set scrap that said as much about his nerve as his shot-making.
From flat start to full roar
This had all the makings of the classic underdog hangover. Hijikata, still buzzing from the Djokovic upset, looked drained as he walked onto court in the French capital. Within 26 minutes, the first set had disappeared. He lost the first eight points, was broken twice, and never got close to Etcheverry’s rhythm.
The Sydneysider briefly steadied with a hold to love, but the Argentine’s weight of shot and early authority left Hijikata chasing shadows. For many, that’s where the fairytale fades.
Instead, he reset.
The second set opened with a 12-minute marathon game on Hijikata’s serve. He stared down a break point, refused to blink, and held. That escape changed the temperature of the match. In the fourth game he pounced, breaking Etcheverry and suddenly dictating with his forehand, his legs looking lighter, his belief growing.
He protected that single break with care, closing out the set 6-3 in 43 minutes. From a rout, it had become a proper fight.
Edging a knife‑edge decider
The deciding set turned into a serving contest. Through 5-5, Hijikata had not seen a single break point on the Etcheverry serve. He had, though, survived his own crisis at 1-2, saving three break points in a game that could easily have flipped the night back towards the Argentine.
Outside that wobble, he was immaculate on serve. Four of his five service games in the decider were held to love, a statement of clarity under pressure from a player still learning to live at this level.
Then came the crack.
At 5-5, Hijikata finally carved out his first break point of the set. One chance, at the sharpest moment of the match. He took it. Suddenly he was walking to his chair, a game away from his first ATP Masters quarterfinal, from another leap up the rankings, from turning a breakout week into something bigger.
Serving for it, he opened with an ace.
Etcheverry dragged it back to 15-all, but that was as close as he got. Hijikata reeled off the next three points, sealing victory with an emphatic cross-court forehand smash that left no doubt. The celebration that followed was raw, arms aloft, the release of a player who knows exactly what this week means.
From the commentary box, Ryan Harrison, the former top-40 American, captured it neatly: this was not the mild-mannered Hijikata he was used to seeing. This was a man “as fired up” as Harrison had ever seen him.
New ground, new challenge
The win lifts Hijikata into the world’s top 60. If he wins again, he will surge to No.48, a staggering rise for a player who started the week at No.83 and in qualifying. He has already beaten five higher-ranked opponents in Paris; one more would cap one of the stories of the tournament.
Waiting for him is local hope Luca Van Assche, ranked 47 and riding his own wave after a gripping three-set win over Lorenzo Musetti, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. Van Assche stared down two break points at 3-4 in the final set, then ripped through 12 of the next 13 points, the home crowd roaring him over the line after two earlier French defeats in the session.
Hijikata has never faced Van Assche. He will walk into a partisan arena, with a young Frenchman feeding off every roar, every chant, every missed first serve. The physical test now comes with a psychological one: can the Australian’s new-found edge survive against a player carried by home support?
Big names move, big names miss out
Elsewhere in the draw, the day brought a different kind of progress for Carlos Alcaraz. The second seed advanced to the quarterfinals without striking a ball in anger after Matteo Berrettini withdrew from their scheduled third-round clash with an arm injury. The Italian, ranked 43, pulled out after feeling pain, leaving the evening session without its headline act and Alcaraz straight into the last eight.
There he will meet Taylor Fritz, who silenced another French crowd by beating Arthur Fils 6-3, 6-4, adding to the home disappointment that has become a theme of the week.
The American presence deepened on the other side of the draw too. Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul both moved through to set up an all-American quarterfinal. Paul, the 12th seed, handled Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 with controlled aggression, while Shelton had to scrap far harder, coming from a set down to edge Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
One more surprise name has forced his way into the last eight. Portuguese lucky loser Nuno Borges, who thrashed Ignacio Buse 6-0, 6-2, has turned his second chance into a deep run and will face the winner of Casper Ruud and Jan-Lennard Struff.
Yet, for all the star power and storylines, Paris keeps circling back to the qualifier from Sydney.
Rinky Hijikata arrived as a footnote. He now carries the weight of expectation into a quarterfinal, with a partisan crowd against him and a ranking climb within reach. The question is no longer whether he can spring an upset. It’s how far this surge can take him.
