Hijikata Beats Etcheverry to Reach Paris Masters QF

Rinky Hijikata came from a set down again and beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the Paris Masters quarterfinals on Thursday. A day after rallying past Novak Djokovic, the Australian qualifier is the first player through qualifying into the Paris last eight since Hugo Gaston in 2021.

It is Hijikata's ninth ATP Tour quarterfinal and the biggest of his career. The win lifts the world No. 83 to about No. 59 in the live rankings, above his previous career high of No. 62, and makes him the ninth active Australian into a Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

Another First-Set Hole, Another Rally

Etcheverry controlled the opener, then Hijikata flipped the match the same way he had against Djokovic. He took the second set 6-3 and closed the third 7-5 after more than two hours. The pattern matches Wednesday, when he dropped the first set 2-6 to Djokovic before winning 6-3, 6-3 in 2 hours and 16 minutes.

"It took a lot. I was getting outplayed in the first set and had to hang tough," Hijikata told Sky Sports after the Djokovic win. Thursday asked for the same toughness against a player who had already taken out two top seeds of the week.

Etcheverry's Week Ended Cold

Etcheverry opened Paris by beating Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) in nearly three hours, then stunned No. 9 Alex de Minaur 7-6 (2), 6-3 for the first top-10 win of his career at the 21st attempt. Hijikata ended that surge before the Argentine could cash it into a first Paris quarterfinal.

Hijikata's own path was long. He came through qualifying over Jaime Faria 6-3, 6-4 and Vit Kopriva 7-6 (5), 6-2, then beat Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2 in the main draw before the Djokovic upset. Four straight wins as a qualifier into the last eight is rare air in Paris.

Next: Musetti or Van Assche

Hijikata's quarterfinal opponent is still to be decided between Lorenzo Musetti and Luca Van Assche, who had not finished when this result posted. Either way, a qualifier who just beat Djokovic and Etcheverry in consecutive days has already rewritten his season.

Paris has not seen a qualifier this deep since Gaston five years ago. Hijikata just made sure the next Australian story in this draw is about a quarterfinal, not a highlight-reel upset that ended in the round of 16.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Hijikata holding serve early in the quarterfinal. He has now climbed out of a lost first set twice in 24 hours, and his return form against Etcheverry kept that pattern alive.

A qualifier into the Paris last eight is the kind of run that sticks. Hijikata still has more tennis left this week.