Ugo Humbert

[Damian]

Humbert Upsets Zverev To Reach Halle QF

Spoiler:

Humbert is into his third grass-court quarter-final of his career.
Ugo Humbert upset third seed Alexander Zverev 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle.

The 22-year-old hit ten aces and won 77 per cent (53/69) of his first-serve points to advance in one hour and 53 minutes. He will now face Sebastian Korda, who edged out Kei Nishikori earlier on Thursday.

You May Also Like: Korda Battles Through Against Nishikori In Halle To Reach QF
In a first set where both players dominated on serve, with Zverev winning 84 per cent of points (21/25) behind his first serve and Humbert 85 per cent (23/27), it was the Frenchman who claimed the opener in the tie-break when Zverev netted a forehand.

Zverev converted his first break point at the start of the second set when Humbert went long on the backhand to lead 2-0. From there, it continued with serve as Zverev dictated on the forehand to level. Humbert found the breakthrough in the fourth game of the final set though and was relentless from there, as he played aggressive tennis from inside the baseline to overcome Zverev.

Humbert defeated Sam Querrey in the first round and is now 11-13 this season. The Frenchman currently sits at No. 31 in the FedEx ATP Rankings having reached the semi-finals at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille (l. Herbert).

How To Watch

“I don’t particularly know what I could have done differently, to be honest,” Zverev said. “Ugo was serving incredibly well in the first set, we both barely won points on each other’s serve. Then in the third set, I think he found his rhythm from the baseline. He was outplaying me. It is not a great result for me, but I don’t know what I could have done differently.”

The third seed reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros last week (l. to Tsitsipas) and is now 24-10 on the season, having won the title at the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Berrettini) in May. Zverev, who reached the final in Halle in 2016 (l. to F.Mayer) and 2017 (l. to Federer), has yet to win a trophy on grass despite lifting 15 ATP Tour titles on clay and hard courts.

Earlier in the day, Lloyd Harris defeated Lukas Lacko 6-3, 7-6(8) in 87 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals. The 24-year-old, who is currently No. 51 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, hit 11 aces and saved the one break point he faced as he moved to 14-10 for the season. The South African’s reward is a meeting with either Nikoloz Basilashvili or Arthur Rinderknech.

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[Lucas]

[Kamileki]

[Bombardiero]

[Damian]

[Nando]

[Damian]

[Kamileki]

[Lucas]

[Damian]

[DUN I LOVE]

Moment Ugo Humberta w Halle.

[Damian]

[Kamileki]

[Barty]

#3) Halle 2021


ligaolahraga.com

R1 Sam Querrey 46 76(4) 76(5)
R2 [3] Alexander Zverev 76(4) 36 63
QF Sebastian Korda 62 67(5) 64
SF Felix Auger-Aliassime 64 36 76(5)
W [4] Andriej Rubliow 63 76(4)

[DUN I LOVE]

3-0 w finałach, lepiej tam gra niż FAA.

[Damian]

Humbert Earns Felix Revenge To Reach Halle Final

Spoiler:

Frenchman to play World No. 7 Rublev for title
Another day, another nail-biting three-set battle for a surging Ugo Humbert in Halle. The 22-year-old Frenchman fought past Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) on Saturday to reach his first ATP 500 final at the NOVENTI OPEN.

Humbert has been made to work all week long, with all of his matches in Halle going the distance and to at least one tie-break set in each as he took down Sam Querrey, third seed Alexander Zverev and Sebastian Korda to book his second battle in as many weeks against Auger-Aliassime.

Last week in Stuttgart, it was Auger-Alisassime who triumphed after a tight 7-6(5), 7-6(8) victory on his way to the MercedesCup final (l. to Cilic). But Humbert turned the tables in Halle to improve to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head against the Canadian, with all three of their matches taking place on grass courts.

You May Also Like: Rublev Reaches First Grass-Court Final In Halle
“It was an amazing match from both of us, but it was very tough physically and mentally,” Humbert said in an on-court interview. “I’m very proud to win this match, it was exceptional.

“It gives me a lot of confidence [winning matches like this], and when you win some matches 7-6 two times in the third set.”

Humbert will take on fourth seed Andrey Rublev in the final as he seeks the biggest title of his career. The Frenchman owns two ATP Tour titles and a perfect 2-0 record in finals, both coming at the ATP 250 level at Antwerp and Auckland last year. His opponent, Rublev, owns four ATP 500 titles (4-1 in those finals) and leads the Tour with 74 victories in 2020-21. Rublev won their only previous tour-level meeting last year in St. Petersburg.

At the OWL Arena in Halle, Humbert wasted no time as he recovered from an early break and raced ahead in the first set. The Frenchman’s relentless attack took time away from Auger-Aliassime, leaving him on the defensive and struggling to handle his opponent’s pace.

How To Watch

The Frenchman had break points for a 4-1 lead in the second set, but Auger-Aliassime raised his level and cut down on his unforced errors as he settled into the contest. He reeled off the last five games in a row to take the set and level the score, and he looked to be in complete control as he created five break opportunities across two of Humbert’s service games late in the third set.

But Humbert refused to drop his serve as he stayed toe-to-toe with Auger-Aliassime, rushing to net regularly where he won 10 of 13 points played. The #NextGenATP Canadian fired his 12th ace of the match (14 in total) to save a match point at 4-5 to take them into a tie-break, and saved two more with big first serves. Humbert stayed focussed, firing a big first serve of his own to earn a forehand return long to seal the victory.

The Frenchman improved to 13-13 on the season with the win, and extended his career grass-court win rate to 12-5.

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[Damian]

Humbert Beats Rublev For Halle Title

Spoiler:

The Frenchman holds a 3-0 record in ATP Tour finals.
Frenchman Ugo Humbert overcame Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(4) on Sunday to claim his first ATP 500 title at the NOVENTI OPEN title in Halle.

The World No. 31 is now 3-0 in ATP Tour finals. The Frenchman also lifted trophies at the European Open in Antwerp and the ASB Classic in Auckland, both ATP 250 events, last year.

“It is incredible. It is the best victory of my career,” Humbert said. “I am very proud because it wasn’t easy. I was a little bit tired, but I tried to stay focused on each point, and did what I could, so it is very nice.

“I tried to stay aggressive and take the ball early because in the baseline rallies it was tough, because Andrey was hitting the ball very hard. Physically, it was tough, and I tried to take my chances when I could, and I won.”

Humbert won 85 per cent (45/53) of points on his first serve and hit nine aces to claim victory in 87 minutes. The lefty is now level at 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head series with Rublev.


After an even start to the contest, Humbert made the crucial breakthrough in the eighth game of the opening set as the 22-year-old started to dictate with his aggressive forehand. Humbert, who hit five aces in the first set, continued to serve well, as he fended off two break points to close out the set.

Both players looked to stay on top of the baseline in the second set as the match continued on serve, with neither man facing a break point as it moved to a tie-break. Humbert held his nerve, closing the net at every opportunity to record the victory.

“It has been a really great week for me, with my first grass final,” Rublev said. “It was not easy in the beginning. Everything was so fast, just one or two shots. At 3-4 I hit three second serves in a row and he returned twice deep and with the new balls it was really tough.

“The second set was good for both of us. In the tie-break I had a big chance with the forehand but I missed them, but it happens and I can’t control it. He was serving very well.”


Rublev is now 33-10 on the season and has a 4-2 win record in ATP 500-level finals. Despite the defeat, the Russian will rise to third position in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 14-21 November at the Pala Alpitour. The 23-year-old is behind only Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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[Damian]

Humbert: A Piano Man & Rising French Star

Spoiler:

The Frenchman competed in Milan last year and won his maiden ATP Tour title this January in Auckland
Editor's Note: Ugo Humbert beat Andrey Rublev on Sunday to win the NOVENTI OPEN title.. This feature was originally published on 1 November 2019.

If you head to a tournament hotel when the ATP Tour is in town, many times players can be found in their rooms studying tapes on a future opponent, watching tennis and other sports on television, or even playing video games. But if there’s a grand piano around, don’t be surprised if Frenchman Ugo Humbert is at the keys.

“I started with my sister. At the same time, I started tennis,” said Humbert, who competed in the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals. “I love music. I play a little bit of electric guitar, but I’m better at piano.”

Humbert began playing the piano when he was five. From the age of 12, when he trained with the French Federation in Poitiers, to when he later began practising in Paris, there was always one constant in the Frenchman’s life: a piano in his room. When the mild-mannered lefty’s days would come to an end, he’d sit down and play.

“When you play piano, you are only with you,” Humbert said. “It’s great to have the time to be alone, to enjoy. In tennis, it’s the opposite.”

The same way tennis players lock into a ‘zone’ on the court, Humbert gets into a ‘zone’ dancing across the keys. The 22-year-old, who was the last player to miss out on a spot in the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals, doesn’t have one song he likes playing the most. But he favours 'Boogie Boogie' as well as the theme songs for Titanic and James Bond.

Humbert

Is Humbert tennis’ version of James Bond? That idea elicits a laugh from the Milan qualifier. Humbert does not see himself as anyone else.

“I’m Ugo,” Humbert said, cracking a smile.

But back home in France, people tell him that he has almost a throwback game.

“I’m an aggressive player. I serve well, have a good, flat backhand and I can go to the net to finish the point,” Humbert said. “They compare me to Guy Forget and Henri Leconte, I’m a mix.”

Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert first played Humbert on the ATP Challenger Tour in July 2018, before the rising star cracked the Top 200 of the ATP Rankings for the first time. Humbert defeated Herbert in straight sets, and then did so again less than three months later to win the Ortisei Challenger, using that result to earn himself a spot inside the world’s Top 100 for the first time.

“He almost has no weaknesses. He can do almost everything and when he has a small weakness, he’s working on it... He has a really good serve, an amazing backhand, a really solid forehand, he’s an aggressive player. He takes some time off you and it’s really tough to play against him,” Herbert said. “I think one of the most important things for him is going to be to stay fit because I think he has the energy to work and he wants to be better and you can see it day-by-day when he’s training."

You May Also Like: Five Things To Know About Ugo Humbert
Humbert showed plenty of progress in 2019, reaching his first three ATP Tour semi-finals. But perhaps Humbert’s biggest breakthrough came at Wimbledon. In just his first tour-level season competing on grass, the Frenchman came from two sets down against countryman Gael Monfils in the first round and later ousted fellow #NextGenATP player Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round before bowing out to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

“It was a great experience. I played three times on Court 1. It was just unbelievable,” Humbert said. “There were a lot of people. I’m very happy to see the public and get to entertain the crowd.”

Humbert

In his next tournament, Humbert kept his momentum going on the grass in Newport, where he made his second tour-level semi-final, losing against American John Isner, who was highly complimentary of his opponent.

“He serves very well. He’s a very effective server, a lefty, and he’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Isner said. “He’s only 21 years old, so that [confidence] comes with winning matches. He’s growing in confidence and growing in belief.”

Humbert has climbed as high as World No. 41 this year, a marked improvement considering he began September 2017 outside the Top 700. He lifted his first ATP Tour trophy in Auckland this January. According to Herbert, Humbert still has plenty of room to grow.

“That’s what’s nice about him: you have no idea where he can stop. I think he can be an amazing player. I think he has a lot to achieve yet. He was not far from going to the final in Newport, he played the second week at Wimbledon,” Herbert said. “I think he can go far.”

Humbert, Marseille

Last season was Humbert’s first on the ATP Tour, and he has greatly enjoyed getting to travel to different cities and see the tournaments he has heard about growing up. And the more time Humbert spends under the spotlight, the more he will get used to competing against the best players in the world, which is something that he embraces.

“I enjoy every moment to play on the big courts,” Humbert said. “That’s why I play tennis.”

At his roots though, Humbert is the guy you can find at the hotel piano, manouevring his fingers along the keys. As devastating as his game could be off the court, he is equally elegant off of it, and that shows in his kind, polite personality, too.

“One of the things you can feel with him is he is really nice,” Herbert said. “What I can feel is his humility and his humility also brings him the energy to go back to work and to get better every day and I think it’s one of the things that helped him make some big progress."

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[Damian]

[Kamileki]

Ugo In-Form: Nobody arrives in Mallorca in better grass-court form than Frenchman Ugo Humbert, who won the biggest title of his career on Sunday in Halle. En route to the ATP 500 title, the lefty earned Top 10 triumphs against Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev. The seventh seed will begin his Mallorca campaign against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, and he could potentially play American Sam Querrey, whom he defeated in a tight three-setter in Halle, in the second round.

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