The French No. 1 continues his preparation before the Australian Open. He disposed of former Top 10 player Cameron Norrie in two sets and won his first victory at the Caen tournament on Tuesday December 11.
There’s no stopping Hugo Humbert. The best French player, 14e in the world ranking and finalist of the Masters 1000 in Paris, won his first Open in Caen (Calvados), Tuesday December 11. Unhappy finalist last year against the Australian Alex de Minaur, Messin took his revenge against the Briton Cameron Norrie (6-1, 6-3) by folding the final in just an hour.
After the victory of the Belgian Elise Mertens, among the women, on Monday, the two left-handers fought in a packed Sports Palace. HASfter two balanced games, the French No. 1 increased the pace to bring down the former Top 10 and win the first set in just 23 minutes. The second act was of the same ilk, Hugo Humbert resisted the Briton’s two break balls to win in a controlled final.
The Habs, who lost in 2021 and 2023, did not hide their joy from France 3 at the end of the match : “I’m glad I won! I lost my first two finals in the tournament, but here I had an excellent match and I played well. I’m satisfied because it’s in the middle of pre-season: we train a lot and yesterday I felt that I was a little tired. But I said to myself: give it your all despite your little autonomy!” With this success, Ugo Humbert inscribes his name on the tournament tablets, and takes over from Caen’s top names on the circuit like Alex de Minaur (in 2023) and Holger Rune (in 2022).
Beyond a prestigious victory, Messin was above all able to gauge itself before embarking on its 2025 season: “I was able to play against a great player, a former top 10 player, who was certainly a little injured but who made a final in Metz recently. These are matches that I love to play. Before leaving for Australia, in January, it’s perfect because it gives us a small tournament in stressful conditions, with lots of people.”
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The French No. 1 was notably able to measure his physical progress before embarking on the Grand Slam tournament : ‘”I feel that I hold my ground better, that I move around quite a bit. It’s an added pleasure on the court”, he confided. For his part, the British Cameron Norrie welcomed “one of the best indoor players” of the moment and an atmosphere “electrifying” in the Caen setting.
The 18the edition of the tournament was also marked by the farewells of Richard Gasquet at the Caen Open. Le Bitterois, who will retire at the start of the year, had been eliminated by his compatriot Hugo Humbert in the semi-final (5-7,6-4,4-6).
