Ugo Humbert claimed his first ATP tour title since 2021 by beating Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday in the final of the Moselle Open, to cap a memorable week on home soil and improve to 4-0 in tour-level singles finals.
Humbert was born in the French city of Metz which hosted the indoor tournament. He will finish the season as the top-ranked French player, at a career-high No. 20 in the rankings.
À domicile, Ugo Humbert remporte le Moselle Open ! Semaine parfaite pour le Messin qui, en plus de remporter son 4e titre, fait son entrée dans le top 20 pour la première fois de sa carrière #MoselleOpen pic.twitter.com/F40EYb0MFu
— FFT (@FFTennis) November 11, 2023
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
“It was my dream when I was young to win this tournament,” Humbert said. “It’s just amazing. I have a lot of feelings now, I can’t describe it. It’s so incredible to win here in my hometown in front of my family. To finish strong like this, it’s just an amazing feeling.”
The result will see Humbert finish the season at a career-high No. 20 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and as the year-end French No. 1 for the first time. He edged past Sofia champion Adrian Mannarino for both honours by claiming the Metz crown just an hour after the veteran’s triumph in Bulgaria.
In a dominant final performance, Humbert saved the only break point he faced to consolidate a late break in the second set. In the ensuing game, he clinched the trophy with his third break of the 67-minute match. The fourth seed was particularly dominant on first serve, winning 86 per cent (25/29) of points, and on second-serve return, winning 57 per cent (12/21) of exchanges.
Pure emotions @HumbertUgo | @MoselleOpen | #MoselleOpen pic.twitter.com/7q7DvqpPIS— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 11, 2023
READ: Billie Jean King Cup: Canada Beat Czech Republic To Set Up Final vs Italy
“I tried to play my game. I tried to put the pressure on every point,” the Frenchman said of his front-foot approach in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Shevchenko. “It was not easy. I knew that the key was to stay really present and I did it. When I had the opportunities, I tried to go for it and I did it. I’m super proud.”
Humbert’s previous three ATP titles came in 2020 (Auckland, Antwerp) and 2021 (Halle).
Shevchenko was bidding to become the seventh first-time ATP Tour champion this season. Despite the defeat, his run to his first tour-level final will earn him a Top 50 debut.
Comments
0 comment