Djokovic at Paris Masters: Vacherot, Then Hijikata?

On Monday at 11 a.m., in a slot Telegraf called unusual, a match began in Paris that Novak Djokovic was not playing in but that still concerns him. Rinky Hijikata, the world No. 85, beat Italy’s Luciano Darderi, ranked 23rd on the ATP list, 6-2, 6-2 in 64 minutes, and became Djokovic’s possible opponent in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Djokovic himself plays his first match on Tuesday, November 3, against Valentin Vacherot of Monaco. As of 12:27 p.m. on Monday, the time of that match had not been announced. If he gets past Vacherot, Djokovic meets Hijikata in the second round, and that match has no date yet either.

How did Hijikata reach the second round?

The Australian was better than his far higher-ranked rival in both sets, giving Darderi just two games in each. In the first set the Italian briefly got back into the match with a single break, but Hijikata then broke serve twice in a row and took control. In the second he went up 3-0 straight away and closed the match out without much drama.

A gap of 62 places in the ATP rankings was erased in an hour and four minutes. For Djokovic, it means that if he gets that far, the second round brings an opponent who opened the tournament with a convincing win.

What did Vacherot say about facing Djokovic?

Vacherot arrives in Paris as the Basel champion. He beat Czech player Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s final, so after winning the title he did not get a first-day slot in Paris and starts only on Tuesday. After the final he took questions from reporters, including one from Telegraf who asked him about the draw.

At his news conference after the Basel title, Vacherot said Paris is his last tournament of the season and that he had a good week in Basel. He also recalled that he last played Djokovic in Shanghai last year, and that they have met only in doubles at Indian Wells since. About the match at La Defense, he said:

But, I don’t know how many times I will get the draw to play him again. It’s an incredible “Center Court” there, an incredible atmosphere at La Defense, so it’s going to be a great match.

Vacherot added how he is going into Tuesday:

I’m motivated even more now with the title here, and I’m coming here on Tuesday.

Asked how he looks at the season that is ending, he said:

But since it’s the end of the season and Paris will be my last tournament, I played well here, had a good week.

What does Djokovic need for Turin?

Paris is the last tournament of the race to Turin, and Djokovic enters it as the No. 11 player with 2,900 points, according to official ATP figures from Monday morning. Ninth place, the last one that leads to the Finals, belongs to Rafael Hodar with 3,194 points, and tenth is Alex de Minaur with 3,170. The Finals run from November 15 to 22.

The math for Djokovic is simple and leaves no room for error:

• a quarterfinal brings 3,090 points, which is still less than Hodar and De Minaur
• a semifinal brings 3,290 points, and that is the minimum that keeps him in the race
• only the title, with 3,890 points, guarantees a spot without counting on other results

If he reached Turin, he would qualify for the 19th time in 20 years. He knows Paris well: he holds the tournament record with 50 wins and seven titles, and this is his first return since the 2023 title. As the No. 10 seed he has no first-round bye, so he needs two wins to reach the third round, where he could run into De Minaur, a direct rival for the last place in Turin.

What comes next?

The first question is the time of Tuesday’s match, because the organizers had not published a schedule by midday on Monday. The main draw in Paris runs from November 2 to 8, so Djokovic can only wait for his slot and walk out against Vacherot. Hijikata has done his work in the meantime and is waiting to see who joins him in the second round.