This week, Bercy has no eyes for him. Ugo Humbert, author of an incredible journey to reach the last four of the Parisian Masters 1000, took with him the French public, very happy to vibrate again for one of his own, on the occasion of the last of the tournament in the legendary walls of the Accor Arena. Winner of Americans Brandon Nakashima and Marcos Giron, Messin saw his week change following his exploit against world number two Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16.
After confirming the test against Jordan Thompson on Friday evening, the left-hander takes on the Karen Khachanov obstacle this Saturday, winner at Bercy in 2018. The opportunity for Humbert to continue his dream week. And to dust off certain figures from French tennis.
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If successful against Khachanov, Ugo Humbert will qualify for the 8th final of his career. Very comfortable at this stage of the competition, the 18th player in the world won six of his seven Sunday meetings, losing only in the last one, in Tokyo against Arthur Fils at the end of September. This season, Jérémy Chardy’s protégé has already won two trophies: the ATP 250 in Marseille and the 500 in Dubai, in February.
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Becoming the eleventh Frenchman to reach the final four at Bercy on Friday evening, Humbert put an end to seven years of waiting, since Julien Benneteau’s surprise semi-final in 2017. He could do even better by becoming the first French finalist of the tournament since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, beaten by Roger Federer on the last Sunday of the 2011 edition.
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The French left-hander could also succeed Gaël Monfils. If he triumphs against Khachanov, Humbert would reach the first final of his career in Masters 1000. The last Blue to have achieved this feat remains “La Monf”, defeated at the end of a match with twists and turns against Rafael Nadal in Monte-Carlo in 2016, 8 years ago.
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The Lorraine left-hander’s good week will also be reflected in terms of points in the ATP rankings. Positioned in 18th place this week, Humbert is already guaranteed to return to 15th place next Monday, even if he loses against Khachanov. If he qualifies but then loses to Holger Rune or Alexander Zverev, he would move up to 14th place. In the event of a final victory, the Frenchman would surpass his best ranking (13th last February) and find himself just outside the top 10, in 11th position.
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Having entered the circle of French semi-finalists at Bercy, Humbert now intends to join the even more restricted circle of blue finalists. His goal: to become the fifth to play in the title match at the Accor Arena, after the three winners (Guy Forget, Sébastien Grosjean, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga) and Gaël Monfils, unfortunate finalist twice (2009 and 2010).
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In Masters 1000, the 26-year-old left-hander put an end to five years of waiting, since the semi-final contested by Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati in 2019. By negotiating his meeting against Khachanov well, he could offer himself a round of towel to the table of French finalists in this tournament category, becoming the 8th to achieve this performance after Guy Forget, Cédric Pioline, Sébastien Grosjean, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gaël Monfils and Gilles Simon.
