Luca Van Assche has reached the semi-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters after coming through a quarter-final thriller against Rinky Hijikata, Eurosport reports. The French player's run in the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris continues, and he will now face Ben Shelton in the last four, according to the same outlet.
Eurosport described the match as a thriller without giving a scoreline. Le Figaro covered the win over Hijikata in its own quarter-final report, and L'Équipe confirmed Van Assche's place in the semi-finals.
The result drew wider attention in French tennis. The Fédération Française de Tennis framed the win as Van Assche stepping up to the top level, noting in the same roundup that Arthur Fils, Arthur Rinderknech and Quentin Halys were all stopped. 20 Minutes asked whether Van Assche, described as a player who produces tension-filled matches, is a French talent the country had not been expecting.
Van Assche's semi-final against Shelton is the next step, with a place in the Paris final at stake.
