Rinky Hijikata defeated Novak Djokovic, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, in the second round of the Paris Masters.
Winning one of the biggest matches of his professional career, the Aussie qualifier fought back from a set down to beat the seven-time champion. In doing so, Hijikata ended Djokovic’s ATP Finals qualification bid. The Serb needed a deep run in Paris to move into the top eight (nine with Jannik Sinner’s injury).
Hijikata remained composed throughout the match and barely celebrated when converting match point against arguably the greatest player of all time. Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Hijikata delivered his verdict on the remarkable upset.
Rinky Hijikata admits it ‘took a lot’ to beat Novak Djokovic in Paris
“It took a lot; I was getting outplayed for the first set and a little bit. I wasn’t even close to his level; I knew I just had to really hang tough, had to keep trying to play my game, impose myself as much as I could. I guess in the end I was glad I could kind of maintain my level for as long as I did and trust myself in the big moments,” he said.
The Aussie was then asked about the court conditions in Paris, having now beaten four players at the event this year (Jaime Faria, Vit Kopriva, Luciano Darderi, and Novak Djokovic).
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“I feel like with new balls it’s very quick; I feel like I’m getting pretty good purchase on my serve, and then for a while I couldn’t touch his serve either. Once the balls fluff up a little bit, it’s a bit more playable, and there are some longer rallies, but either way, I just felt like I had to take it to him and play aggressive,” said Hijikata.
Finally, Sky Sports pundit Ryan Harrison asked Hijikata whether he made any adjustments on return after the first set, where he won only two games and hit three forehand winners.
“I was just trying to guess a little bit better, he was acing me for fun out there, and he has the last two times we’ve played too, I was just telling myself, if I get a swing on it, try to get a good hit, especially on the second serve, and hopefully get some looks,” he said.
Hijikata will return to take on Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday, November 5. Djokovic, on the other hand, is done for the season. He has failed to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time since 2017.
Live ATP Race to Turin
- 1. Alexander Zverev – 9,350 points (Qualified)
- 2. Jannik Sinner – 7,950 points (Qualified – Won’t play)
- 3. Carlos Alcaraz – 5,110 points (Qualified)
- 4. Ben Shelton – 4,620 points (Qualified)
- 5. Daniil Medvedev – 3,820 points (Qualified)
- 6. Flavio Cobolli – 3,680 points (Qualified)
- 7. Arthur Fils – 3,535 points (Qualified)
- 8. Frances Tiafoe – 3,390 points (Qualifying)
- 9. Rafael Jodar – 3,234 points (Qualifying)
- 10. Alex de Minaur – 3,170 points (Can’t qualify)
- 11. Novak Djokovic – 2,940 points (Can’t qualify)
- 12. Taylor Fritz – 2,900 points (Not qualifying)
- 13. Tommy Paul – 2,825 points (Not qualifying)
Ryan Harrison insists Novak Djokovic didn’t play ‘poorly’ against Rinky Hijikata
Harrison was also keen to deliver his verdict on the match itself, having spent time with Hijikata recently, before his shock win over Djokovic in Bercy.
“Well, Novak [Djokovic] didn’t really play poorly at all; this was Hijikata just absolutely firing on all cylinders. After that opening set, Novak was controlling most of the match, particularly behind his serve, but Rinky there – unbelievable effort, particularly off that forehand side that was blistering, just three forehand winners in the first set, then just poured them on for sets two and three,” he said.
Novak Djokovic vs Rinky Hijikata – Match stats
| Stats | Novak Djokovic | Rinky Hijikata |
| Performance rating | 7.9 | 8.1 |
| Serve quality | 8.0 | 7.7 |
| Unreturned serve % | 31% | 24% |
| First serve % | 69% | 60% |
| First serve points won % | 75% | 72% |
| Second serve points won % | 34% | 50% |
| Second serve average speed | 155 km/h | 151 km/h |
| Return quality | 6.5 | 7.2 |
| Break points won | 2/11 | 3/7 |
| Forehand winners | 10 | 29 |
| Backhand winners | 8 | 8 |
| Forehand unforced errors | 11 | 17 |
| Backhand unforced errors | 8 | 15 |
| Forced errors | 26 | 31 |
| Net points won | 11/13 | 14/20 |
| Baseline points won | 47 | 46 |
| Points won under nine shots | 79 | 80 |
| Points won over nine shots | 12 | 11 |
“Look at the stats here, you can see that serve quality went down there for Novak, Rinky’s serve quality by his standards was really, really good.
“For him to win over 50% of rallies off second-serve points against Novak, who has been an unbelievable returner, the best returner in the game, for the last 20 years, up until maybe two or three years ago, I’d put Sinner up there with Alcaraz now, but overall, just an unbelievable effort on that forehand wing. 29 winners off the forehand side, as I said earlier, just three in the opening set.”
Hijikata played some of his best tennis against Djokovic and will walk onto the court with every chance of beating Etcheverry in the next round. The Aussie could then play Lorenzo Musetti or Luca Van Assche in the quarter-finals.
