Sensational Ugo Humbert: for the very last edition of the Masters 1000 in Paris at Bercy, the French number 1 knocked out world number 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16 on Thursday. He is the last French player still in the running.
Author of a dream first round, completed in 26 minutes, Humbert (28th ) finally won 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in just over two and a quarter hours.
“It’s the best victory of my career and it’s the best moment I’ve ever had on a tennis court. It was incredible,” summed up the 26-year-old left-hander.
For a place in the last four – which would be a first for him in a Masters 1000 – Humbert (18th player in the world) will face the Australian Jordan Thompson (28th ) on Friday evening.
With five representatives in the round of 16 for the farewell to Bercy before the move to La Défense Arena in Nanterre next year, French tennis equalled its 2009 record at this stage of the Parisian tournament on Thursday.
We wondered how many would cross the next hurdle. Would they manage to be three, to equal another record (2012)? In the end, there will only be Humbert.
Because at midnight, Arthur Rinderknech (80th ) came within two points of joining him before giving in at the last minute (6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) against world number 9 Grigor Dimitrov.
Humbert is currently the only one at the rendezvous. Only one other Frenchman can still hope to join him: Arthur Rinderknech (80th ) , opposed to the world number 9 Grigor Dimitrov.
Arthur Fils (20th ) , despite a set snatched from world number 3 Alexander Zverev, victorious 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, Adrian Mannarino (58th ) , beaten 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) by Thompson, and Arthur Cazaux (85th ) , 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 by world number 13 Holger Rune, said goodbye to Bercy.
“Everything is possible”
How far will Humbert go? “When I play like that, anything is possible,” imagines the 18th player in the world. “I don’t know how far I’m going to go. We’ll see. That’s the question I don’t want to answer.”
“I love playing the best players in the world, that’s why I train,” he continues. “In these conditions, at Bercy, my favorite tournament, these are matches that I love playing. I came to Bercy to experience this kind of emotion.”
The least we can say is that Humbert took full advantage of the opportunity he was given to challenge Alcaraz on Thursday evening.
During a quick first set, the French No. 1 proved irresistible, to the point of only allowing one game to the world No. 2. “Everything was going in, I was hitting winning shot after winning shot, I was ultra aggressive right from the return,” Humbert marvels.
But even when pushed around, “Carlitos” held on, until he rebalanced the debate to equalize at one set each.
The level rose a notch on both sides of the net in the second half of the third set, when both players came up with spectacular shots and traded blows.
It was finally Humbert – who “talked” to himself “throughout the third set” – who had the last word, in the electric atmosphere of Bercy.
“Even better than top 10”
The Paris tournament is definitely not going well for the young Spaniard, who has already won four Grand Slams: he has never reached the quarter-finals in four participations.
Having left the central court beaten just before Humbert entered it in turn, Fils, a newcomer in the top 20 at the end of his first full season in the big league, punctuated by two ATP 500 trophies, in Hamburg — won against Zverev — and Tokyo, nevertheless received compliments from his winner of the day after his first eighth-final in a Masters 1000.
“He definitely has the game” to make it into the top 10 within a year, Zverev believes.
“He has incredible power, like very few players have. Maybe [Jannik] Sinner, Alcaraz, me when I play well. Otherwise I don’t see who else has such power, compares the world No. 3. It’s a question of development, of exploiting his potential. I think he can even be better than top 10.”
In the quarter-finals on Friday, Zverev will face world No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas, still in the fight for one of the last three tickets at stake for the year-end Masters, which brings together the eight best players of the season. Like Dimitrov and world No. 10 Alex De Minaur, who will face Karen Khachanov (21st ) and Rune respectively.
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