Rinky Hijikata’s week at the Rolex Paris Masters ended on Friday with a 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5 defeat to Luca Van Assche in the quarter-finals. But the Australian qualifier, who knocked out Novak Djokovic on the way, sees it as an answer to those who doubted him.

“I got pretty sick of a lot of people saying that I didn’t have the level good enough to compete with these guys,” Hijikata said in his post-match talk with some media, including Tennis Majors. “I’ve heard it all before in my career, that I’m too small, I don’t have weapons and I don’t have a big enough game to compete with the top players in the game. I really wanted to put my foot down, improve and prove those people wrong. I’m not there yet, but I feel like I’m on a good path, hopefully.”

Ranked No. 83 at the start of the week, he leaves Paris with the best ranking of his career, inside the top 60.

“Probably a match I’ll never forget”

Hijikata played six matches in Paris, two of them in qualifying. The biggest was his 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Djokovic on Wednesday, his first against the Serb after two defeats. He then came from a set down again to beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Asked to choose between his new ranking and the Djokovic win, he did not hesitate. “Probably getting to play Novak and then getting a win,” he said. “Just to be on the court with him is pretty mind-blowing, as a kid growing up and watching some of the epic matches he’s had at some of the Slams and tournaments like this. I never could have dreamt of being out there, in a Paris Masters 1000, playing against him. That’s got to be up there. Probably a match I’ll never forget.”

“I’m pretty proud of what I was able to do this week,” he added. “I felt like I brought a great level in all my matches, and to back it up that many times, day after day. I’m disappointed with how it finished, but if you told me at the start of the week I’d be losing 7-5 in the third in the quarter-finals, I probably would have taken it.”

“Figuring out a way to bring it week in, week out”

For Hijikata, the week is above all a source of confidence for 2027. “The money’s great too, but more than anything, it’s the confidence I can take from this week,” he said. “I’ve shown glimpses throughout the year. I feel like my high level has been a lot higher this year. I’ve been able to go toe-to-toe with a lot of good players and have beaten some really highly ranked players. I know I have that level now.”

He knows where the challenge lies. “I know it’s not going to be easy to bring that week in, week out, but that’s what I’m going to have to try to do from next year onwards: figure out a way to play like this in all different conditions, with different balls, different surfaces,” he said. “That’s the hard part.”

He cited Indian Wells, Queen’s and Basel as other weeks where he felt his game was there. “In the right conditions, I felt like I’ve been playing some good tennis,” he said. “This week I played six matches, and I felt like in all six I brought a very high level. Hopefully I can keep improving and keep going.”