On Saturday, Van Assche will face third seed Ben Shelton, who Tommy Paul won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 earlier in the day to reach his first semi-final in Paris.
Van Assche is ready for Shelton
“I’m a little tired,” Van Assche admitted in court. “Once again it was an incredible match.”
“He’s an incredible player. He had some great wins this week, especially against Djokovic,” he said of Hijikata. “I think the surface suited him well, he plays very smooth, he is very aggressive and it was not easy for me. But I’m happy with how I came back.”
“It’s true, losing the second set hurt a bit, and the start of the third was quite difficult,” he added. “I’m happy to turn things around and it’s nice to win here in Paris.”
Next comes Shelton. “It’s going to be difficult,” Van Assche said. “Now I will do everything to recover well and I will do everything to win tomorrow.”
Fewer mistakes and the final say in the decider
Van Assche took the only break at 4-4 in the first set, then went down 3-0 in the second and broke back. He saved break points in two long service games at 3-3 and 4-4, but Hijikata, who had led the tiebreak 6-2, took it 7-4.
Hijikata carried his momentum into the decider and took a 2-0 lead, but Van Assche hit back. From then on, neither player trailed, with winners pouring in from both sides. At 6-5, with Hijikata serving to stay in the match, Van Assche’s forehand passing shot, his second in three points, and the Australian’s double fault gave the Frenchman three points. He only needed one.
Hijikata hit more winners (39 of 47) but committed 41 unforced errors to van Assche’s 20.
The Australian continued to rush forward, more and more, as the decider drew to a close, but Van Assche was waiting for him. Hijikata has gone to the net 43 times and scored just 25 of those points, while the far more selective Frenchman has won 11 of his 13 outings. The match ended right at the net. on game point, Hijikata once again came in and fired a shot into the net.
The Frenchman hit 13 aces to Hijikata’s seven, saved five of the seven break points he faced and won eight of the last ten points, according to Flashscore.
Van Assche, the last French hope
Van Assche defeated Mariano Navone 6-3, 7-5, 15th-ranked Pravog Tien 7-6 (4), 6-4, then. Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4Two weeks after losing to the Italian in Lyon. Hijikata, who came through the qualifiers, had knocked out Novak Djokovic and: Thomas Martin Etcheverryboth times after losing the first set.
Van Assche is now the only Frenchman left in the singles draw after Arthur Fils lost to Taylor Fritz Thursday night. “Hopefully we’ll have a Frenchman in the semi-final, the final, and maybe even a winner,” Fils said after his loss. The first part of his wish was fulfilled.
Rolex Paris Masters 2026 quarter-final results
Ben Shelton (3) d. Tommy Paul (12) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Luca Van Aschen d. Rinki Hijikata (Q) 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5
Carlos Alcaraz (2) vs Taylor Fritz (11) (Friday, no earlier than 7 pm)
Nuno Borges (LL) vs Casper Rude (Friday, no earlier than 20:30)