Aussie Rinky Hijikata’s opening-round win at the US Open dampened by deadly shooting at his girlfriend’s university in North Carolina

Rinky Hijikata defeated Pavel Kotov 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 in his first-round match of the US Open 2023.

Aussie Rinky Hijikata’s opening-round win at the US Open dampened by deadly shooting at his girlfriend’s university in North Carolina

Rinky Hijikata (L), University of California Incident (R) (Sources: ABC, ABC7 Chicago)

Rinky Hijikata, a promising 22-year-old Australian tennis player, proved his mettle in his first-round match against Pavel Kotov in the ongoing 2023 US Open. This was only the first time that the youngster qualified for the second round of a Grand Slam.

The first time he did the same was earlier this season at the Australian Open. However, his sweet victory was dampened by sad news that came from his past university at the same time. 

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The University of Carolina, where Rinky Hijikata studied for two years, was home to a very tragic event on the same day he won his Round 1 match. A gunman killed a faculty member at the university, and the students had to hide in shelters for hours until he was arrested. The man is currently in custody. Hijikata’s girlfriend currently studies at the same university, so the news was even more troubling for him. 

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“I was pretty happy with the win today, but that’s kind of put a dampener on it, to be honest. First and foremost, I want to send my thoughts and prayers to everyone back in Chapel Hill because that’s not something you want to see after what’s happened. There is a lot bigger than my tennis match here today,” Hijikata said in his post-match interview. 

He said that he was there for two years and would have graduated this May. Apart from his girlfriend, Hijikata also has a bunch of friends who still study at the university. Talking about his match against Pavel Kotov, he emerged victorious, winning it 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. 

Rinky Hijikata faces Márton Fucsovics in Round 2

Rinky Hijikata (Source: Sporting News)
Rinky Hijikata (Source: Sporting News)

Having defeated Pavel Kotov in round 1, the Australian will now be facing Hungarian tennis player Márton Fucsovics in Round 2, who is the highest-ranked player in his nation.

Despite registering a solid win in the first round, Hijikata’s chances in the US Open are low. After all, his performances in the past few major tournaments have not been that great. He will have to work on his game a lot to succeed in the Grand Slams. 

Talking about his match against Fucsovics, Rinky Hijikata said: “I think come tomorrow, hopefully I will be alright. I’ll definitely be focused on my match. If anything, I want to try and play 10 to 20 percent harder on Wednesday for everyone at school at the moment.”

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