After playing the quarter-finals in Beijing and Shanghai, Ugo Humbert took a break to start his European indoor tour in Basel. His opponent, the American Marcos Giron, had decided to play overtime in Asia by playing in the Tokyo Open where only the future winner, Ben Shelton, managed to stop him in the semi-finals.
This surely explains the appearance of the match. In the first set, Humbert showed off his freshness and the fire that so often animates his left arm when he feels good. Giron seemed out of it. The Frenchman’s victory in the first set was uncontested. But, once he had digested his jet lag, Giron became formidable again.
Taking advantage of a little less pressure exerted by Humbert, he broke quickly (2-0) and even broke away 5-3. Humbert managed to erase his handicap at the best time to return to 5-4. But he once again gave in his commitment and Giron returned to a set everywhere.
Jarry in the next round
The third set would take a long time to decide the winner of the match. We had to wait until the tenth game to see the first break point, which was also a match point for Giron. Humbert’s too timid climb did not allow him to do anything about the American’s passing. On the other hand, his forehand was impeccable to save this match point.
It was therefore necessary to go through the tie-break to decide the outcome of the match. Under the eyes of his coach Jérémy Chardy, Humbert attacked the decisive game with the ball in the lead. An initial mini break placed it in the best conditions. A second offered him his first match point. Giron saved it, but on the second, his backhand went out of bounds and offered victory to Humbert who will play Nicolas Jarry, seeded n°7, in the next round.
