It was the anonymity of an almost empty Grandstand (the match had been relocated at the last moment without much publicity) that the Miami Masters 1000 ended for Ugo Humbert, beaten by the German Dominik Koepfer (3-6 , 6-4, 6-3). Everything started well for the 14th seed. Faced with the powerful play of his opponent, he managed to offer more variations to win the first set.
There were, however, a few red flags flashing that might have been cause for concern. Despite six aces and 75% of points behind his first ball, Messin had let go once in this first set. And, if the ball left his racket well (a forehand was clocked at 159 km/h), there were still a few too many free mistakes. We could hope that with the first round in his pocket, he would free himself and settle down.
At the edge of the court, his coach Jérémy Chardy asked him to “Make an effort on his legs. » The advice was followed, but the Frenchman seemed mainly in reaction. While Koepfer put more and more into his shots, Humbert was too often in difficulty on his serve. He only got a break point without being able to convert it. On the contrary, his opponent stole his serve to return to a set everywhere.
The third round was one of regrets. As the temperature dropped and the wind came onto the court, Humbert gave himself three break points at 1-1. Koepfer brushed them aside and did it again in the second set, taking the Frenchman’s serve straight away to lead 3-1. A hell of a blow behind the neck for Humbert who had no solution to his opponent’s lumberjack game, despite three new break points at 4-2 Koepfer. Too bad.
2024-03-25 04:12:17
#Ugo #Humbert #eliminated #Masters #Miami
