PARIS/WASHINGTON, November 6, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Luca Van Assche has quietly but effectively gone about the business of winning each of his four matches at the Rolex Paris Masters this week in the ATP Tour’s last ATP Masters 1000 event of this season. He’s never given up hope.
On Friday, the 22-year-old son of a Belgian father and an Italian mother, who later was naturalized French, became the second-youngest French semifinalist in tournament history – only behind 21-year-old Richard Gasquet in 2007 – when he pulled through a two-hour, 44-minute quarterfinal thriller to beat Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5, to advance to the final four in the City of Lights.
One of 10 Frenchmen to begin the week in the 56-player singles draw, the 47th-ranked Van Assche now stands alone in the French spotlight after reaching his first semifinal above ATP 250 level. He earned a decisive break at love at 6-5 in the final set to pull through his quarterfinal with the 83rd-ranked Hijikata, who earlier this week upset seven-time Paris champion Novak Djokovic in the second round.
Maiden Masters 1000 SF feels even better at home 🏠
#RolexParisMasters https://t.co/CYgfWVm0mc
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) November 6, 2026
Van Assche’s triumph lifted him to No. 34 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, guaranteeing him of a new career-best ranking next week. He’s scored quality wins this week over Mariano Navone of Argentina, No. 15 seed Learner Tien of the United States, Lorenzo Musetti of Italy and Hijikata.
As recently as a year ago, Van Assche, a former Junior No. 1 and #NextGenATP rising star, was ranked outside the world’s Top 170. He was toiling away on the ATP Challenger Tour, looking to build upon his ranking by collecting ranking points. Before this week, he had never won a main-draw match at the Paris Masters. Now, he’s one of the last four players left in the singles draw.
“It was another incredible match, just like all the ones I’ve played since the start of the tournament,” Van Assche said during a post-match interview with Eurosport. “None of my opponents has made things easy for me. Rinky played a great match today. He has a very attacking game and is excellent at the net, so on a fast surface like this, he wasn’t easy to handle. I’m really happy with the way I managed the third set. The start was very difficult and I quickly found myself 2-0 down, but once again, I managed to dig deep and find a way through.“
ICI C’EST PARIS 🫶
#RolexParisMasters https://t.co/GSTOlMAS6X
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) November 6, 2026
Van Assche fired 13 aces and hit 36 winners overall. He won 77 percent (55 of 71) of his first-serve points, saved five of seven break points and broke Hijikata’s serve four times in eight tries. Van Assche outpointed his opponent 113-99.
Later, during his news conference, Van Assche added about his triumph over Hijikata: “There were ups and downs. There were moments when I played very well, moments when he played very well. It was a difficult match from the beginning to the end.
“He’s a good player who played very well from beginning to the end. It was not easy to tip the balance. I’m happy about the way I managed my emotions in the third set. It wasn’t easy.”
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Next, Van Assche will go up against World No. 4 and third seed Ben Shelton, who eliminated fellow American and No. 12 seed Tommy Paul, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, in one hour and 45 minutes. The loss eliminated Paul both from the Paris Masters and from the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. It also made Shelton the first American semifinalist in Paris since Jack Sock in 2017.
“I had a good game plan today, but my level dropped at certain moments,” Van Assche told Eurosport. “I’ll have to do better tomorrow if I want to trouble him.“
While Shelton’s victory spoiled Paul’s pathway to a possible Turin bid, it meant that another fellow American, World No. 8 Frances Tiafoe, has qualified for Turin. Shelton’s victory enabled him to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal outside of his two title runs in Canada. He did it by firing 19 aces and converted two of his four break-point opportunities during one-hour, 45-minute contest. He also hit 35 aces and outpointed Paul 81-73.
Ben wins his ticket to the semis!
#RolexParisMasters https://t.co/7AvBolmwN6
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) November 6, 2026
“I thought the first set was definitely a serving contest,” Shelton said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “I got a little lucky when I broke him in the first set. He double faulted twice and I hit a slap winner return on break point, so I knew the second set was going to be a real test. Obviously, I went down a break early, and he is such a good frontrunner.
“So, to be able to reset, the first hold was huge. I needed that scoreboard pressure to get out in front and I was happy with the way I got the break, playing offensive tennis on my terms, and I served it out really well.”
Ben Shelton’s first impression after defeating his friend Tommy Paul to reach the semi-finals🎙️
#RolexParisMasters https://t.co/4YItdzUjiq
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) November 6, 2026
Alcaraz overcomes Fritz, Jodar claims final Turin berth
World No. 12 Taylor Fritz knew the stakes that faced him when he took to Court Central Friday evening against World No. 3 and second seed Carlos Alcaraz. For the 11th seed Fritz, he needed to pull off an upset of Alcaraz in order to not only advance to the Rolex Paris Masters semifinals, but also to clinch the final berth for the Nitto ATP Finals.
It was literally win or go home. For a while, Fritz’s chances looked good.
However, Alcaraz saved a pair of match points in consecutive games during the second set, after Fritz had won a 22-point tiebreaker and led 5-3. Then, Alcaraz reset his focus in the final set and pulled through a three-set victory over Fritz, 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-3, in two hours and 43 minutes.
Thank you both for this match 🙏
#RolexParisMasters https://t.co/6oCRKAeucV
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) November 6, 2026
The victory, which was 40th of the season for Alcaraz, advanced him to Saturday’s semifinals against World No. 23 Casper Ruud of Norway, who defeated 49th-ranked lucky loser Nuno Borges of Portugal, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in one hour and 32 minutes. During the quarterfinal, which wrapped up well after midnight in Paris, Ruud hit 10 aces and 24 winners overall. He saved both break points he faced and converted his only break-point chance. Ruud outpointed Borges 68-65.
Alcaraz’s triumph also meant that fellow Spaniard Rafael Jodar claimed the final berth in the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Alcaraz wins the match and the crowd
#RolexParisMasters https://t.co/uGAYGWeLeb
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) November 6, 2026
Alcaraz came in riding a six-match winning streak and enjoyed a 6-1 head-to-head lead in his career match-up with Fritz. The 23-year-old Spaniard had also won the ATP 500 Erste Bank Open in Vienna last weekend. So, a lot of momentum was riding with Alcaraz. By the conclusion of the quarterfinal match, he finished with 44 winners to 41 unforced errors, converted four of nine break points and outpointed Fritz 118-116.
During his on-court interview with ATP Media, Alcaraz described his comeback this way:
“I tried not to let myself down in the difficult moments in the second set,” he said. “I tried to stay strong mentally and save those break points and match points. I would say 3-5 serving, that game we played incredible tennis. That point [to hold for 4-5] caused the people to stand up and bring the energy into the match. I used the people and the energy and gave them what they really wanted to watch and I am really happy to play for one and a half hours more to entertain them. The feeling I have today is unmatched.”
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Around the Rolex Paris Masters
• In doubles, four quarterfinal matches took place on Court 1 Friday and set up Saturday’s semifinal round.
No. 2 seeds Christian Harrison of the United States and Neal Skupski of Great Britain ended the run of Robert Cash and Brandon Nakashima of the United States, 7-6 (5), 6-4 to advance against Austrians Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner. Miedler and Oberleitner, who have won titles at Shanghai and Vienna in the past three weeks defeated Petr Nouza of Czechia and Michael Venus of New Zealand, 6-7 (12), 6-4, 10-5.
In an all-French match-up, wild cards Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert took on Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti and won 7-5, 6-3 to advance against No. 1 seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain. Heliovaara and Patten defeated French wild cards Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech, 7-5, 6-4.
Friday’s Paris Masters results
Saturday’s Paris Masters order of play
By the numbers
Luca Van Assche has become the 15th different French player to reach the semifinals of the Rolex Paris Masters. The first to do it was Henri Leconte in 1986, while the most recent before Van Assche was Ugo Humbert in 2024.
“Quotable …”
“I am excited for it. Excited for the opportunity. That’s why I have gotten to this point in the tournament. I knew I was probably going to have to go through him if I wanted to [have the chance] to make Turin. So, I’m ready to play.”
– Taylor Fritz of the United States, during his on-court interview Thursday after defeating Arthur Fils, on the thought of having to face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
