Round of 16: upsets continue to sweep through the Arena

Van Assche rising to the occasion

This was not just an upset. It was an upset achieved on home soil. Luca Van Assche was one very happy Parisian on Thursday evening after securing a place in the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters with a statement victory over world No.24 Lorenzo Musetti, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in 2h38.

The Frenchman was entering uncharted territory, competing in his first Masters 1000 Round of 16. Yet he looked anything but overwhelmed. Instead, Van Assche produced a clean and composed display to neutralise the Italian during the opening set. A break at 6-5 allowed him to seize the initiative and move within touching distance of a major upset.

But Musetti arrived in Paris carrying significant momentum. Fresh from his title in Lyon, where he had notably defeated Van Assche in the quarter-finals, and coming off his stunning victory over world No.1 Alexander Zverev on Wednesday, the Italian gradually increased the weight and quality of his ball-striking. Unsurprisingly, he levelled the match at one set apiece.

Despite controlling many of the longer rallies, however, Musetti never managed to fully pull away. Van Assche found himself under pressure in virtually every service game but refused to panic. As the match wore on, the Frenchman grew stronger physically while the crowd became more and more vocal.

Eventually, the breakthrough arrived. Roared on by the home fans, Van Assche secured the decisive break before serving out the victory to love. Once match point was converted, the racquet flew into the air in celebration.

“As a French player, competing at the Rolex Paris Masters is something special. The atmosphere is unique,” he told Eurosport. “You feel so much support and the crowd stayed with me from the first point to the last. At this stage of the season, players are often tired and being able to draw on that kind of energy is invaluable. It helped me finish strongly today and beat Lorenzo, who is an incredible player and who defeated the world No.1 yesterday. I'm extremely proud of that.

“A year ago I was ranked around No.200 in the world and now I'm in the Top 50. It shows how much progress I've made in putting my game together. I always knew I had the ability, but knowing it and actually doing it are two very different things. This tournament is the reward for those efforts.”

One thing is now certain: there will be at least one surprise semi-finalist, as Van Assche will face Rinky Hijikata for a place in the last four.

Hijikata delivers another shock

When Rinky Hijikata arrived for qualifying last Saturday, he had never won a match in Paris either. Five magnificent victories later, the Australian has also reached the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career. A Round of 16 finisher at Indian Wells earlier this year, he had already equalled his best result at this level with Wednesday’s victory over Novak Djokovic. On Thursday afternoon, he raised the bar again, producing another impressive comeback to defeat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in 2h06.

Still feeling his way into the match during the opening exchanges, Hijikata conceded an early break and struggled to cope with the sheer power of the Argentine, who was particularly impressive throughout the first half-hour. But he never broke.

“In the first set, I tried a few things but nothing was really working,” the winner told ATP Media. “I wanted to keep going and I knew I needed to trust myself. I’m happy it worked out in the important moments.”

Back on level terms from the opening games of the second set, the Australian gradually established control and never relinquished it. Just as he had against Djokovic, it was his willingness to take the initiative that paid off. His trademark down-the-line forehand, a shot he particularly enjoys hitting, brought the Court 1 crowd to its feet on more than one occasion.

Competitive at the important moments and solid whenever he found himself under pressure, Hijikata ultimately found one final opening late in the deciding set, avoiding the need for a tie-break. “It’s incredible. It’s an amazing feeling,” he continued. “It was difficult coming back on court after yesterday’s win because I was a little low on energy. Tomas had a lot of fans in the stands and they made plenty of noise, but they actually helped me raise my level, so thanks to them!

“More generally, it’s taken a lot of hard work to get back to this level and this ranking. I now feel like I’m back where I belong.”

Could the adventure continue a little longer?

That is certainly not what Luca Van Assche and the French fans will be hoping for.

Borges, a very lucky loser indeed

On Sunday evening, after losing in the final round of qualifying to Alex Molcan, Nuno Borges could hardly have imagined that he was about to make Rolex Paris Masters history. The Portuguese player, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser following Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s withdrawal, became the first lucky loser ever to reach the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters 1000.

His latest victory came against world No.33 Ignacio Buse on Court 1, where he prevailed 6-0, 6-2 in just 1h11. Between two players generally more comfortable on clay, many expected a tightly contested encounter.

It turned out to be anything but. Rock-solid behind his serve and aggressive from the baseline, Borges raced into an early double-break lead and never looked back, handing his opponent a bagel in the opening set. The world No.49 carried that momentum straight into the second set, securing another early break.

Although Buse managed to stop the bleeding by getting on the scoreboard, the Peruvian was then forced to call for the trainer due to a left knee problem. The medical timeout did little to disrupt Borges. Outstanding at the net, winning 13 of his 14 approaches, the Portuguese surged towards the finish line and another memorable victory.

Next up, this very fortunate lucky loser will face either Casper Ruud or Jan-Lennard Struff. Another surprise in the making?