Last Frenchman in the running, Luca van Assche qualifies for the semi-finals of the Masters 1000 in Paris after a big fight against Rinky Hijikata

The Masters 1000 in Paris continues to transcend French players. After Ugo Humbert, finalist in 2024, there will once again be a Frenchman in the semi-finals. Luca van Assche, who had never passed the 2nd round in Masters 1000, qualified for the last four, Friday November 6, by dismissing the Australian Rinky Hijikata after a long fight (6-4, 6-7, 7-5 in 2h43).

After dismissing Learner Tien (19th in the world) then Lorenzo Musetti (24th), the 22-year-old Frenchman had a golden opportunity to continue his journey against the 83rd in the world, also from qualifying. But it was much more complicated than expected. Rinky Hijikata is playing the tennis of his life in Paris, after having knocked down no less than Novak Djokovic (11th in the world) then Tomas Martin Etcheverry (31st) in the previous rounds.

Despite losing the first set, the Australian put up fierce resistance to the Habs. He immediately got back upright at the start of the second set to lead 3-0 before snatching the set in the deciding game. But Luca van Assche seems to have changed during this Parisian week.

Never panicking or annoyed, the Frenchman stayed in his match, picking up the score each time, until finally forcing the decision on his first match point, after more than 2 hours 40 minutes of play and an audience ready to jump for him. "It was an incredible match like it has been since the start of the tournament, against difficult opponents. He has a very offensive game, it was not easy to maneuver him. I am very happy with the way I managed the third set. Once again, I drew on my resources to get through it", reacted the person concerned at the microphone of Eurosport.

He becomes the 12th Frenchman and the second youngest to reach the semi-finals at Bercy (after Richard Gasquet at 21 in 2007) where he will challenge the number 3 seed, Ben Shelton, who defeated his compatriot Tommy Paul in three sets. In the other semi-finals, the one who eliminated Arthur Son, Taylor Fritz, will face the scarecrow Carlos Alcaraz, while Casper Ruud was luckier, with the lucky loser Nuno Borges, 49th in the world.