Musetti's Paris Masterclass Stuns Van Assche

Lorenzo Musetti vs Luca Van Assche at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday delivered a result that rewrote the recent history between the two.

Van Assche, ranked No. 47 in the world, defeated Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

The match was a direct sequel to their Lyon quarterfinal two weeks earlier.

In Lyon, Musetti had won 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 in a 3-hour-32-minute marathon that ended at 1:17 a.m.

Musetti went on to win the Lyon title.

Van Assche called Thursday's win "revenge" for that loss.

"Lorenzo is an incredible player," Van Assche said in his on-court interview.

"I'm starting to know him well now."

He added: "In Lyon I played 3h30, today 2h30, so we're starting to know each other on court."

The match played out on Court Central in front of a Paris crowd that had already seen Frenchmen Quentin Halys and Arthur Rinderknech lose earlier in the day.

Van Assche saved the French afternoon.

He broke Musetti at 4-4 in the deciding set after saving two break points at 15-40 in the previous game.

He converted his first match point with a superb drop volley.

The crowd chanted his name as he celebrated.

"It was a childhood dream to play on a Court Central like this," Van Assche told the crowd.

"I went to Bercy several times to watch these players. Now it's here, but I dreamt of it, and today to win in front of you is incredible. Thank you very much."

In his press conference, he added: "I'm very happy to be in the quarter-finals for the first time in my career. I hope it's not the last one, it's the first of many."

The win also opened up a remarkable opportunity in Van Assche's section of the draw.

Alexander Zverev, the world No. 1, had been knocked out in his first match by Musetti.

Novak Djokovic had fallen to qualifier Rinky Hijikata in the previous round.

On paper, the quarterfinal in this section could have been Zverev against Djokovic.

Instead, Van Assche will face Hijikata on Friday.

Hijikata, a qualifier, beat Djokovic on Wednesday and Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Thursday.

Van Assche acknowledged the physical challenge ahead.

"Physically, I won't have any problem playing on Friday, but I have to take good care of my recovery to be in full shape tomorrow," he said.

Ben Shelton, who also advanced on Thursday, described the state of the tournament succinctly: "Everyone is probably cooked."

The Paris Masters is the ninth and final ATP Masters 1000 event of the season.

For Van Assche, a 22-year-old Frenchman, this run represents a career breakthrough.

He had never previously advanced past the second round of a Masters 1000 event.

Now he is one win away from a semifinal appearance.