Hijikata tries to follow the path of his tennis idols, Kei Nishikori and Lleyton Hewitt
The 22-year-old Australian is making big strides on the men’s Tour
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As an insight into the character of Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata, his embrace of a hostile audience points to a steely belief that he is capable of overcoming any obstacles to succeed.
The 22-year-old is short of stature by tour standards at 5ft 10in (1.78m) but is a powerful striker of the tennis ball who believes he has the ability and mental strength to become a top-tier talent.
The bigger the hurdle in front of him, the more Hijikata, who plays American star Frances Tiafoe on Sunday for a spot in the US Open quarterfinals, relishes the challenge of trying to leap it.
There is no better demonstration of this than his debut on Arthur Ashe Stadium a year ago when, to the disbelief of fans, he seized the first set against Rafael Nadal with daring play. Nadal prevailed (4-6 6-2 6-3 6-3). But as the Australian contemplated the experience while riding in a van back into Manhattan, he felt far from satisfied with just testing the champion.
“It was a pretty mixed bag of emotions. I mean, I was a little bit disappointed,” Hijikata told Tennis Majors. “But the whole time I was playing the match, and even afterwards, I could not come to terms with the fact it was reality. I really just wanted to try to enjoy the moment, I guess, because you never know when you’re going to be able to get back there.”
Hijikata’s return to Arthur Ashe Stadium could come a lot sooner than anticipated should he defeat Tiafoe.
He is aiming to spoil the hopes of an American reaching the semifinals, with Tiafoe’s fellow Ultimate Tennis Showdown stars Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton also alive in his quarter. Hijikata believes the experience gleaned against Nadal and also playing in the American collegiate system, where parochial fan support is the norm, will stand him in good stead.
“I’ve played plenty of away college matches in my time and in some pretty hostile environments,” he said on Friday. “I feel like I love just kind of thriving on the energy and they’re not going to be for me, that’s for sure. But I’ll still try to enjoy it as much as I can.”
A CHILD OF TWO NATIONS
It could be said Hijikata was born to be a tennis player for his father Makoto, who is from Tokyo, is a coach in Sydney who passed on his love of the sport to his son.
Hijikata’s mother Junko is also Japanese and still has family in the Kobe region. At the completion of a press conference after his third-round victory over Zhizhen Zhang in New York, the Australian spoke in Japanese to a reporter from the country.
As he was rising up the rankings, Hijikata was a regular visitor to Japan for ITF events and ATP Challenger Tour events and he retains an interest in his parents’ homeland.
“I definitely think my Japanese heritage is a part of my identity,” he told Tennis Majors. “I think that it’s important to understand your history and the ideals and culture that your parents grew up in. But in saying that, I definitely feel Australian. I love Australia.”
He stands the same height as 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori, who became his favourite player after the retirement of Australia’s former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt.
There are similarities between Hijikata’s style and those of Nishikori and Hewitt, for the right-hander possesses an all-court game and packs plenty of punch from both wings. “I had the backwards cap and Yonex racquet and Lleyton was a huge reason why I got into tennis. But as I got older, Nishikori was a big one also,” he said.
THE PROFESSIONAL FINISHING SCHOOL
Hijikata broke into the top 10 in junior ranks when competing against fellow US Open participants including Jiri Lehecka, Hugo Gaston, and Dominic Stricker.
However, he felt that he needed more time to develop before turning professional and accepted a scholarship to the University of North Carolina between 2019 and 2021. This pleased his mother Junko, who urged him to have a degree to fall back on. But after excelling on the court when earning All-American honours, he decided to turn professional after two years with the Tar Heels.
“If I’m honest, I definitely was more drawn to sport than studying,” he said. “I found myself a lot more motivated to train or get out on the tennis court as opposed to being in a classroom, but I also know the importance of trying to always learn more, of always being open-minded and always making sure that you’re growing.”
The American college experience helped but Hijikata, who hit with Hewitt while serving as a Davis Cup orange boy, a role offered to promising Australian juniors, has learnt a lot at home. In Sydney, he practices with compatriots including Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson, Max Purcell, Chris O’Connell, and James Duckworth, and said being exposed to those players had fast-tracked his development.
“Just having that many people around who have walked the path that you’re trying to take, I guess I’m pretty lucky. We all push each other to get better,” he said.
WHAT HIS MATES THINK
World No.13 Alex de Minaur is delighted to see a mate that he grew up with excelling in New York and predicted this US Open run is only the start of a bright future for Hijikata.
“I’m so happy to see him shine. I’ve grown up with him. I’ve seen him develop,” he said. “He just was outside the top 100 for a while and just couldn’t quite break through and just to see him put his head down and go about his business is great. He just gets the job done.”
Thanasi Kokkinakis is similarly impressed with the development of Hijikata, who partnered Jason Kubler to the Australian Open doubles title in January. “He is a super nice kid who is obviously playing great tennis. Rinky is a good guy,” he said. “He moves well. He is a good ball striker. He has sneaky power for his height.”
THE BATTLE AHEAD
Hijikata, who will break into the top 100 at the end of the US Open, said he is looking forward to the experience of challenging Tiafoe. “He’s had a phenomenal last few years and he’s got a complete game,” he said. “He’s kind of one of the few guys that are the faces of American tennis at the moment, which is really exciting for this country.”
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