Ugo Humbert will subject Alcaraz to a maturity test in Paris | ATP Tour

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Humbert will subject Alcaraz to a maturity test in Paris

The four Frenchmen who played this Wednesday advanced to the third round

October 30, 2024

Ugo Humbert is the best player from France classified in the PIF ATP Rankings as No. 18 in the world and this Wednesday he was in charge of leading a great day for his country at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The 26-year-old Frenchman, who starts as the No. 15 seed in the last ATP Masters 1000 of the season, beat American qualifier Marcos Giron with authority 6-3, 6-2 in just 59 minutes.

The conditions, covered hard court and in front of his audience, have made him one of the strongest players when playing in France. And it is already 10 consecutive victories, after winning the title in Metz last November, in Marseille in February and linking two more games won in Paris-Bercy.

Humbert’s streak will be tested against No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. For the Spaniard it will be a test of maturity, precisely three years after falling in the same round and scenario against Hugo Gaston in 2021.

The Murcian, then still a teenager, suffered a severe defeat in which he saw how his rival, encouraged by the local public, turned around a 0-5 deficit in the second set to end up handing over the match 6-4, 7. -5.

“It is never easy to play with the crowd against you and yesterday it was proven, I knew it was going to be difficult to deal with the atmosphere there, but I never imagined it could be so heavy,” wrote an 18-year-old Alcaraz in his social networks. “My first time in this situation was not easy for me, it hurt me a lot not knowing how to deal with that pressure but like everything in life, we fall but we get up and keep going.”

Now as champion of four Grand Slam titles, he intends to remove that thorn against Humbert, a rival whom he has beaten on the two occasions recorded by the Lexus ATP Head2Head (2-0), both this season at Wimbledon and the Group Stage of the Davis Cup Finals.

In addition to Humbert, three other French players have advanced to the third round in Paris this Wednesday. Among them, #NextGenATP Arthur Fils, who defeated German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes.

Fils had just signed the first victory of his career at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris against Marin Cilic and is now in the round of 16 of a tournament of this category for the first time. He will try to continue advancing against Alexander Zverev or Tallon Griekspoor.

For his part, guest Arthur Rinderknech carried out a difficult match against the American Alex Michelsen 7-6(6), 7-6(7) in two hours and 14 minutes. In the third round he will face No. 8 seed Grigor Dimitrov.

While Adrian Mannarino was the fourth Frenchman to achieve a victory on the day against the Belgian Zizou Bergs by 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 12 minutes. The French guest meets in the third round with Jordan Thompson, who arrives after surprising the No. 7 seed Casper Ruud.

Did you know that…?
A total of six Frenchmen participate this Wednesday in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters, the highest number of local representatives at this point in the tournament since 2020. In addition, they ensured the presence of four local players in the third round for the first time since 2009.