Frenchman Luca Van Assche saved all three break points he faced and held all 10 of his service games to beat Argentinian Mariano Navone 6-3, 7-5 in 1 hour 55 minutes in the first round of the Paris Masters 1000 on Monday. He was the first of the four Frenchmen in action on Monday to reach the second round, where he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas or 15th seed Learner Tien, who play on Tuesday in Alexander Zverev’s quarter.

The 22-year-old, ranked No. 47, earned his first win at the event at his second attempt, after a first-round exit in 2023. It was his 13th win of the season, a personal best, and the third Masters 1000 win of his career.

“A lot of pleasure, a lot of joy to have won this first match here in Paris,” Van Assche said in French. “Playing in France and winning matches always feels extremely good.”

Van Assche won the only ATP title of his career in Estoril in July, beating Alexander Blockx 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in the final.

Van Assche holds all 10 service games against Navone

Van Assche broke Navone in the opening game and saved two break points at 3-2. He broke again at 5-3 to take the set on his first set point.

He saved another break point in the opening game of the second set, which then went with serve until 6-5, when Van Assche broke on his first match point. He won 86% of the points behind his first serve and hit seven aces, while Navone made 28 unforced errors to his 20.

Navone, ranked No. 48, won the Bucharest title in March, beating Daniel Merida 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the final, and lost the Geneva final to Learner Tien 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in May.

Van Assche grew up in Paris and watched matches at the tournament as a child. “I really think it’s the Masters 1000 with the best atmosphere,” he said.

Rolex Paris Masters 2026 first-round results

Lorenzo Musetti d. Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10)
Luca Van Assche d. Mariano Navone 6-3, 7-5
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Learner Tien (15) (Tuesday)
Novak Djokovic (10) vs Valentin Vacherot (Tuesday)
Rinky Hijikata (Q) d. Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2
Andrey Rublev vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Tuesday)
Cameron Norrie vs Matteo Arnaldi (Monday)
Mattia Bellucci (Q) vs Lorenzo Sonego (Q) (Monday)
Arthur Rinderknech vs Francisco Cerundolo (16) (Tuesday)
Tommy Paul (12) vs Holger Rune (PR) (Tuesday)
Daniel Merida d. Sebastian Baez (LL) 6-4, 6-2
Quentin Halys vs Arthur Fery (Tuesday)
Jan-Lennard Struff (SE) vs Arthur Gea (WC) (Tuesday)
Casper Ruud vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo (Q) (Monday)
Rafael Jodar (9) d. Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-3
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (13) vs Moise Kouame (WC) (Tuesday)
Denis Shapovalov vs Karen Khachanov (Monday)
Ignacio Buse d. Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-4
Kyrian Jacquet (WC) vs Tomas Machac (Q) (Monday)
Alex Molcan (Q) vs Titouan Droguet (WC) (Monday)
Benjamin Bonzi (Q) vs Taylor Fritz (11) (Tuesday)
Brandon Nakashima (14) vs Matteo Berrettini (Tuesday)
Ugo Humbert vs Botic van de Zandschulp (Monday)
Alex Michelsen vs Jiri Lehecka (Tuesday)

Sources: ATP media notes; match statistics from Flashscore.