Van Assche beats Musetti to reach first Masters 1000 quarter-final in Paris

Luca Van Assche has been through every emotion in Paris, and he came out the other side. On Thursday 5 November, the 22-year-old Frenchman beat Italy's Lorenzo Musetti (world No. 24) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final (the ATP's top tier of tournaments below the Grand Slams).

What happened?

Van Assche started perfectly. He won 81% of points on his first serve and made only 4 unforced errors in the first set, against 18 for Musetti. He took it 7-5.

Then the match turned. Musetti came back to win the second set, and for almost an hour and a half Van Assche had to absorb the pressure. He never gave up. When Musetti faltered late on, the Frenchman stepped in and served for the match, earning three match points and taking the first one. The match lasted 2h38.

"As a Frenchman, playing here is always special. You feel very supported, the crowd didn't let go of me," he said afterwards. His year has been remarkable: he started 2026 ranked 164th, and he will be at least 39th on Monday. He has won five titles this season, including his first ATP Tour title in Estoril back in April. In four days he has won three Masters 1000 matches, more than in his entire career before (two).

What about the other French players?

It was a tougher day for the rest. Arthur Fils, recently world No. 7, lost 6-3, 6-4 in 1h11 to American Taylor Fritz, who hit 14 aces and never faced a break point. Fils already has his ticket to the year-end Masters in Turin, the first for a French player since 2016.

Arthur Rinderknech came close to an upset. The world No. 68 won the first set but lost 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to American Ben Shelton, the world No. 4, after 2h03. Quentin Halys, who had beaten Frances Tiafoe the day before, lost 7-6, 6-4 to Tommy Paul.

What's next?

Van Assche now faces Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata, who has already knocked out Novak Djokovic. In the other quarter-finals, Shelton plays Paul, and Carlos Alcaraz meets Fritz after Matteo Berrettini pulled out with an elbow injury.