France’s No. 1 player, Ugo Humbert, is through to the quarterfinals at his home Masters 1000 tournament by upsetting second seed Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in an electric two-hour, 17-minute match held at the Accor Arena on Thursday night in Paris.
After notching victory in Paris, he commented: “I’m just super proud of myself that I did it. It was a crazy match, a crazy atmosphere, so I tried to do everything tonight. It was a really big match.”
The world No. 18 made a fast start to the first set, breaking twice before taking a 6-1 win in just 26 minutes.
Alcaraz kicked up a level, putting to good use his powerful forehand, setting off a tight battle for the second set.
On the other side of the net, the No. 15th seed held his nerve to fend off three break points in a monumental fourth game to tie the score at 2-2.
However, the 26-year-old would miss crucial chances in the following two games, unable to deny the Spaniard a clinical break in the sixth game.
From there, the Murcia native stepped up the pressure, delivering his vast repertoire en route to even the contest at one set apiece, wrapping up 6-3 after hitting a backhand forcing shot.
Supported by the local crowd, Humbert kept his confidence intact throughout a tight third set, marked by moments of brilliance from both sides of the net, creating an electric atmosphere.
Nonetheless, the sixth-time ATP titlist would find his way to triumph over the former world number one.
Determined to continue his bid for a third title this season, he clinched the lone break of the set in the 12th game, closing out 7-5 to progress into the last eight on home soil.
The Metz-born fired 25 winners against Alcaraz’s 23, winning 72 percent of the points on his first serve.
Next, he will meet Australian Jordan Thompson, who prevailed over wild card Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 7-6(5) in an edgy two-hour, 20-minute clash.
The Aussie, currently ranked at No. 28, leads Humbert 1-0 in their series, a clash the French player lost in three sets at the Cincinnati Open last August.
At the time of writing, eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov was up 6-2, 4-6 in his matchup against French Arthur Rinderknech.