Van Assche gets his Lyon revenge on Musetti to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final in Paris
After the defeats of Halys and Rinderknech, Luca Van Assche beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to avenge his Lyon marathon and reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Lucas Van Assche, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud / PsNewz
Luca Van Assche saved the French afternoon at the Rolex Paris Masters. After the defeats of Quentin Halys and Arthur Rinderknech earlier in the day on Court Central, the world No. 47 beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the first Masters 1000 quarter-final of his career, converting his first match point with a superb drop volley.
It is also a revenge. Last week, Musetti had beaten him 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 in a 3h32 marathon in the Lyon quarter-finals, a match that finished at 1:17 a.m., before going on to win the title. This time the Frenchman had the last word, breaking at 4-4 in the decider after saving two break points at 15-40 in the previous game, to the chants of the Paris crowd. 6:14 pm is a much more decent timing for a win.
With Alexander Zverev already gone in this part of the draw, beaten by Musetti in his first match as world No. 1, Van Assche now finds himself in position to take advantage of the opening.
On Friday, he will face qualifier Rinky Hijikata, who knocked out Novak Djokovic on Wednesday and Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Thursday. On paper, this quarter-final could have been Zverev against Djokovic. But at this stage of the season, as Ben Shelton put it on Thursday, “everyone is probably cooked”.
Van Assche: “A childhood dream”
“It was a childhood dream to play on a Court Central like this,” Van Assche said on court. “I went to Bercy several times to watch these players on the Central Court. Now it’s no longer Bercy, the tournament is played here, but I dreamt of it, and today to play on it, and to win in front of you as well, is incredible. Thank you very much.”
“Lorenzo is an incredible player. I’m starting to know him well now,” he added. “[In Lyon] I played 3h30, today 2h30, so we’re starting to know each other on court. […] It was still a very complicated match. I’m very happy with my performance and very proud.”
He will need to recover quickly before facing Hijikata. “Physically, I won’t have any problem playing tomorrow, but I have to take good care of my recovery to be in full shape and give everything,” he said. “It’s going to be another incredible battle against a player who won again today. He deserves his place.”
Two break points saved, then the decisive break
Musetti had held for 4-3 in the third set with a forehand winner and an ace from 30-30. Van Assche was then 15-40 down on serve, but saved both break points with two unreturned serves as the crowd rose behind him. In the next game, at 15-40 on Musetti’s serve, the Italian forced a forehand into the net. Van Assche then served for the match, reached 40-0 and finished it on his first match point with a drop volley.
Van Assche had beaten Mariano Navone 6-3, 7-5, holding all ten of his service games. He then beat 15th seed Learner Tien 7-6 (4), 6-4, saving nine break points. Musetti had beaten Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10), then Zverev 7-6 (5), 6-2.
“I hope we both reach the final”
Van Assche also had a word for Arthur Fils, who faces Taylor Fritz on Court Central on Thursday night. “Arthur is a great friend of mine, and I’m very happy that he is already qualified for the Masters,” he said. “I hope we both reach the final.”
Rolex Paris Masters 2026 third-round results
Luca Van Assche d. Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
Rinky Hijikata (Q) d. Tomas Martin Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
Ben Shelton (3) d. Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Tommy Paul (12) d. Quentin Halys 7-6 (3), 6-4
Jan-Lennard Struff (SE) vs Casper Ruud (Thursday)
Nuno Borges (LL) vs Ignacio Buse (Thursday)
Arthur Fils (6) vs Taylor Fritz (11) (Thursday)
Carlos Alcaraz (2) d. Matteo Berrettini, walkover
In bold: today’s results.
