Most seats were full on Court 17 for the third-round match between Australia’s Rinky Hijikata and China’s Zhang Zhizhen. Both players, who have been methodically breaking their way on tour—and had already eclipsed their past Grand Slam performances—were hungry to see how far they could go. But Hijikata, who had 55 winners to Zhang’s 36, dictated play with no hesitation and overpowered Zhang to win the match, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
World No. 67 Zhang dismissed 2022 finalist and No. 5 Casper Ruud in a five-setter in the second round last Wednesday, and was looking to make history as the first Chinese man to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era. But two five-set matches in a row (he beat America’s J.J. Wolf in a 4 1/2-hour match on Monday) gave him double the amount of time on court than Hijikata.
This differential evidently crept up in the match dynamic.
Hijikata, with his skillful net game and fast-twitch takeoffs, capitalized on every energetic opening he saw, while Aussie chants lifted him up, no matter the eventual pummeling strokes from Zhang.
Hijikata next faces No. 10 Frances Tiafoe Sunday. But who is this Australian hopeful, who left it all on the court?
He played Division I NCAA college tennis.
Pursuing a professional career in tennis, albeit a successful one, is nothing less than a gamble for most players. Hijikata was smart enough to build something for himself to fall back on. Between 2019 and 2021, he went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a tennis scholarship, while also studying toward a business degree.
While competing in Flushing Meadows, Hijikata is carrying the spirit of his American peers with him. The same day he played his opening-round match at this year’s US Open (he defeated Pavel Kotov in four sets for his second career singles Grand Slam win), a faculty member at his alma mater was killed in a shooting that sent his close friends and girlfriend into a lengthy college-wide lockdown.
Hijikata had been at UNC just last week training for the Open, so the tragedy hit especially close to home and possibly fueled him to fight for the people and community he loves in the only way he’s currently able to.
He’s new to the singles tour-level circuit…
Hijikata captured the first Grand Slam win of his career earlier this year at the Australian Open, where he came back from two sets down to defeat Yannick Hanfmann, before losing to eventual finalist, No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, in the second round.
He made his US Open debut in 2022 with a ranking of No. 198 and gained worldwide attention by taking the first set from his opening-round opponent, No. 3 seed Rafael Nadal.
And he’ll surely keep the spotlight on him with his current run in New York. Before heading onto the court for his third-round match against Zhang, Hijikata knew he would break into the Top 100 (at No. 92) when the next rankings are released, and now that he’s advanced to the fourth round, he’ll spring into the No. 80 spot.
…But already known in doubles.
Hijikata has a higher ATP ranking in doubles than in singles, currently standing at No. 38.
In January, he won his first Grand Slam title at the 2023 Australian Open, teaming with fellow Aussie Jason Kubler to defeat the top-seeded team of Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski in straight sets in the men’s doubles final. It was the second straight year that an Aussie wild-card team captured the title in Melbourne—a repeat of Kyrgios’ and Kokkinakis’ championship from 2022.
He’s Japanese-Australian with American ties.
Although born in Sydney, Australia, Hijikata is of Japanese origin—his father is from Tokyo; his mother, from Kobe. He speaks English with an Aussie accent, but has an obvious American connection after playing college tennis in North Carolina.
