Rinky Hijikata has gone down in an absolute thriller at the Brisbane International, losing two tiebreaks in a three-set loss to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

The 24-year-old cult hero was up to the task against the Frenchman, who came into the clash more than 40 spots higher than the Australian on the ATP rankings.

But it was rising star Mpetshi Perricard who walked away with the 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) victory and put an end to Hijikata’s time at the tournament.

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Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Getty

Hijikata broke his opponent mid-way through the opening set and closed it out to take the lead, getting the crowd at Pat Rafter Arena right behind him.

Mpetshi Perricard bounced back in the second set but the Aussie remained strong on serve, sending it to a gripping tiebreak that the Frenchman eventually won 7-5.

That set up another wildly even third and final set, which again went down to the wire and was described as an “arm wrestle” by commentator Tom Rehn.

The Aussie tennis summer kicks off with the 2026 United Cup from Friday, January 2. Watch it live and free on Nine and 9Now.

In a deuce game, Hijikata dug deep once again and made it a perfect outing on serve to set up yet another tiebreak in a ding-dong battle in Brisbane.

“That is first-class from the Aussie and in two hours of tennis, he was not broken once,” Rehn said on commentary after Rijikata went ahead 6-5.

Rinky Hijikata. Getty

But in devastating fashion, Hijikata dropped a mini-break and Mpetshi Perricard made the most of the golden opportunity, icing the match in two hours and 13 minutes.

“A brilliant match from both players, but Mpetshi Perricard holds on,” Rehn said.

It proved to be a gallant effort from Rijakata, who is the world No.111 and is pushing for a spot back inside the top-100 during the Aussie summer.

Earlier in the week, Mpetshi Perricard had caused an upset when he defeated world No.20 Tommy Paul, who had come into the event as the fourth seed.