Ugo Humbert opened the week well which saw him reach the best ranking of his career (23rd in the world). For his entry into the running at the Moselle Open, where his status as seed 4 allowed him to benefit from a bye in the first round, the Frenchman dominated Dominic Thiem (95th). But it was a painful birth. Humbert actually needed three sets (7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3) and 2h39 to save his skin. He thus reaches his fourth quarter-final on the main circuit since the beginning of October, after the ATP 500 in Beijing, the Masters 1000 in Shanghai and the ATP 500 in Basel. And he signs his 30th success of the season.
Thiem, however, gave him a hard time. Nothing to do with their only previous confrontation, in 2022. In the final of the Rennes challenger, Humbert spanked the Austrian 6-3, 6-0, thus winning his 7th challenger tournament. Tuesday, in Metz, the former number 3 didn’t give up. Including in the first set, which he only narrowly lost in the tie-break, 7 points to 5. Every point was worth gold.
Mayot in the quarter-finals
Despite this advantage, Humbert was unable to continue his momentum. He slumped throughout the second set, making too many inaccuracies. Even his break to return to 3 all owed more to a breath of fresh air from Thiem than to his own initiatives. Worse, his intensity dropped again at the end of the set, where he gave up eight of the last nine points. Everything had to be redone.
A long bathroom break seemed to put him back on his feet. But he had to wait until the eighth game of the last set to make the difference, taking good initiatives on his returns. Tired, Thiem’s legs no longer responded. In the last game, Humbert had to dismiss a break point again before concluding on his first match point. The fight had been fierce.
In the quarter-finals, he will face his compatriot Harold Mayot (176th), winner of Grégoire Barrère, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (5).
2023-11-07 21:23:43
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