Rybakina appoints Ivanisevic as coach from 2025
Elena Rybakina appoints fellow former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic as her coach from next season.
Elena Rybakina appoints fellow former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic as her coach from next season.
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A four-time champion at Spanish ATP Tour events, Carlos Alcaraz knows all about raising his level for a home crowd. On Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters, the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings recognised he may have been on the receiving end of that trend from Ugo Humbert.
“I think I could play better. I think that’s obvious. But with the level that I had today, I think I compete, I gave everything,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference after his three-set defeat to the inspired Frenchman in Paris. “I fought until the last point. I have to congratulate Ugo. I think his performance has been really high. The way he hits the ball is unbelievable. It’s amazing.
“I think every time that he plays against me, I feel like he increases his level. He plays a really high level of tennis. I think in Paris even more so. So congratulations to him, and good luck.”
Alcaraz acknowledged that, although he generally does not favour fast conditions like those at Paris-Bercy this year, they don’t mean much without an opponent who can exploit them. Humbert produced a performance packed with clean, flat hitting that had the World No. 2 struggling from the first game.
“[It is difficult] when I play against someone like Ugo that doesn’t let you get rhythm into the match,” said Alcaraz, who will next compete at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. “He plays probably every time at his 100 per cent, really flat. So I couldn’t play a good tennis.
“I practised [indoors] at home, but it isn’t the same court, or the speed [of] court… So I wasn’t surprised about my level, about my game, but I was surprised about everything a little bit.”
While the on-court battle in the third Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between Alcaraz and Humbert was exhilarating, the courtside action during the pair’s Thursday evening encounter also did not disappoint. A packed arena generated a raucous atmosphere from the opening game to the last and, although Alcaraz naturally did not receive the bulk of the support when playing against a home favourite, he was full of praise for the French crowd.
“I have had a lot of success here in Paris, so I guess a lot of [fans] support me a little bit… [I was] playing against a French player, one of the best French players that France has right now, and [the fans] were great,” reflected Alcaraz. “I had really great points where they were cheering on me a little bit. They [stood] up, clap my points. So I appreciate it, honestly, and the crowd was really respectful. It was a really good match.”
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Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on 12 April 2024. At the 2024 Rolex Paris Masters, Frenchman Ugo Humbert thrilled his home crowd with a memorable upset win against Carlos Alcaraz.
The top of the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin is littered with the sport’s biggest stars. Of the eight players currently holding a qualification position for the Nitto ATP Finals, seven have competed in the season finale and the other, fifth-placed Alex de Minaur, is in the world’s Top 10.
The player in ninth place is Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters quarter-finalist Ugo Humbert. The Frenchman, very much in contention for a spot in Turin, has quietly been playing the best tennis of his career and is even ahead of 12th-placed Novak Djokovic in the Live Race.
“I saw that and it was really, really funny. At the end of Dubai, my coach said ‘It’s funny, you are seventh in the race and Djokovic is eighth’. I was proud!” Humbert told ATPTour.com. “For me it’s more and more exciting because my goal is that I would like to reach the Top 10. So I am trying to find the details to achieve this goal.”
So far this season Humbert has won titles in Marseille and Dubai. The lefty’s record is 18-5 and he has only lost two matches in straight sets.
His formula for success is no secret. Humbert is performing better on both serve and return than he has on average throughout his career.
According to Infosys ATP Stats, the French No. 1 has made improvements this year in service games won (87%), buoyed by a higher rate of break points saved (68%) and second-serve points won (58%). He has also won a higher percentage of return games (21%), in part helped by a bump in second-serve return success (53%).
The 6’2” lefty has a powerful game. Humbert hits a flat ball and is unafraid of standing on top of the baseline to put pressure on his opponent. His breakthrough under coach Jeremy Chardy, once the No. 25 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, has been more mental than technical. He has been working hard at staying calm under pressure.
“Try to stay calm and really, really present on this point, on each ball,” Humbert said. “I try to repeat things that I’m confident in my choices [with] to have more chance to win the point.”
[ATP APP]Staying calm while trying to make progress has been part of Humbert’s life since he was a child, and not just on the tennis court. When the Frenchman was five years old, his parents had him begin taking piano lessons.
At 12, when he moved to Paris train under the French Tennis Federation, Humbert took his piano with him and played it for an hour a day. Listening to Humbert play the piano today is a thrilling experience — passers-by would think he is a musician, not a tennis player.
But for the 25-year-old, one came much easier than the other.
“Tennis for sure because it was my passion. Piano, I didn’t want to play at the beginning, but it was my parents who forced me to play,” Humbert said, cracking a laugh. “So for two or three years, of course I was terrible because you cannot play anything. And after three or four years, when I could do something, some melodies, it was a little bit better.”
Humbert also began learning the guitar at age 10, but stopped for more than five years. About two years ago, he began playing it more often and has been travelling with a Silent Guitar. Fans have enjoyed watching social media posts in which he has played the guitar and his girlfriend, WTA player Tessah Andrianjafitrimo, has sung.
“He likes playing the blues, rock and jazz music. He loves the piano, the guitar. He loves this kind of music,” Andrianjafitrimo said. “I think he has fun in it. He has so much fun, so he can relax.”
Humbert added: “For me, it’s more fun to play piano than guitar because I’m better at piano, so it’s easier to handle a little bit. But it’s nice to play some music, to think about something different, to be not in tennis every time.”
Humbert’s aggressive, front-foot game is the opposite of his laid-back personality. The Frenchman explained that even though his game appears a certain way, his mindset is not much different than when he is sitting at the piano.
“In tennis, okay, I play strong, fast. But inside I try in my mind to be really calm and really cool and really focus on what I have to do. And piano for me, it’s exactly the same,” Humbert said. “Even if I play something like Mozart, Beethoven, a classical song, it’s exactly the same. Mentally I have to be calm and focused on what I have to do.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/04/12/05/51/humbert-portrait-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Ugo Humbert” />
Photo: ATP Tour/Getty Images
That focus has helped Humbert climb into Nitto ATP Finals contention and within striking range of the world’s Top 10.
Former World No. 10 Lucas Pouille has been happy to see the recent surge from his countryman. The 30-year-old believes Humbert still has room to grow, too.
“In his game, no limits. I think he has no limits and mentally as well,” Pouille said. “Two years ago he was feeling not so well. He went back in the rankings, outside of the Top 100. Last year, this time of year [in March], he was playing a Challenger in Pau.
“It’s always great to see a French player coming back to the top. And I think we’ve been used to having those kinds of players in the Top 10, Top 20, Top 30, Top 100. We had so many that it’s important to still have some players like this.”
Humbert is at No. 13 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and Pouille explained his feeling that “Top 15 is the beginning for him”.
“Hopefully he can perform well in the Grand Slams soon. That’s where the big points are. That’s where he still hasn’t played as well as he wants,” Pouille said. “But I’m sure it will come soon because of the confidence he has now. I think he is one step better than he used to be.”
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In a way Humbert’s ascent has been similar to his increasing comfort as a musician. Step by step he has continued to work and learn. Now, he is one of the best tennis players in the world.
“I think [it takes] time. You started when you are super young, and you started to play some tournaments. You are better and better with pressure,” Humbert said. “For me when you work hard, and you feel you are better and better and ready to go in competition, you feel less pressure.”
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[NEWSLETTER FORM]An inspired Ugo Humbert rode a raucous atmosphere and inspired shotmaking to a stunning third-round upset of Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The home favourite prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in a richly entertaining encounter to book a quarter-final spot at his home ATP Masters 1000. Humbert won the first five games of the match in a blistering start on Court Central, before his resolve was tested as Alcaraz grew into the occasion. Yet the Spaniard could not deny Humbert at the tail end of a tense deciding set, when the home favourite rediscovered his shotmaking touch in time to clinch his win.
“I’m just super proud of myself that I did it,” said Humbert. “It was a crazy match, a crazy atmosphere. Maybe my last in Bercy [before the tournament moves to a new venue from next year], so I tried to do everything tonight. It was a really big match.”
ALL HEART FROM UGO HUMBERT!!! ❤️🇫🇷#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/lrE4ZOofmx
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 31, 2024
Humbert’s two-hour, 17-minute win was the joint-biggest of his career by PIF ATP Ranking, equalling his victory against then-No. 2 Daniil Medvedev at the 2022 ATP Cup. The lefty, who is chasing his third ATP Tour title of the season this week after his victories in Marseille and Dubai, is the first Frenchman to earn a Top 3 win at Paris-Bercy since 2010, when Gael Monfils defeated No. 2 Roger Federer and Michael Llodra ousted No. 3 Novak Djokovic.
“I went for every shot,” said Humbert, when asked about his first-set performance in what he later described as the biggest win of his career. “That’s why I think I had less energy in the second set and in the third it was a mountain that was with me from the beginning of the third set to the end. I trusted myself in big moments and I made some big shots.”
[ATP APP]Humbert had left Alcaraz and perhaps even his home fans stunned after a high-quality opening 26 minutes in which he dominated the second seed to race to the first set. The No. 18 in the PIF ATP Rankings struck the ball cleanly off both wings, and his constant aggressive hitting did not afford Alcaraz the time on his groundstrokes that the Spaniard so often exploits.
Alcaraz found a way to up the pressure on Humbert in the second set, however, particularly whenever the Frenchman became passive in rallies. The five-time Masters 1000 titlist clinched the second set after earning its only break in the sixth game. Both players then produced some crowd-pleasing winners throughout the deciding set, but it was Humbert who responded to an ecstatic night-session crowd by snatching victory with a decisive break in the 12th game.
The Frenchman finished the match having outhit Alcaraz by 25 winners to 23. He converted three of six break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to his fourth Masters 1000 quarter-final. It was Humbert’s first victory against the Spaniard in three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings between the two.
Awaiting Humbert in the quarter-finals will be Jordan Thompson. The Australian earlier downed Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 7-6(5) to reach the last eight at a Masters 1000 for the first time.
Following his Paris exit, Alcaraz will next be in action in Turin, where the Spaniard will bid for his maiden title at the Nitto ATP Finals. The prestigious season finale takes place from 10-17 November at the city’s Inalpi Arena.
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Jack Draper’s hopes of sneaking into the season-ending ATP Finals are over after his seven-match winning streak ends in the Paris Masters third round.
Alex de Minaur’s late charge to qualify for his maiden appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals is picking up serious pace at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The ninth seed rallied to defeat Jack Draper 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, snapping the Briton’s red-hot seven-match winning streak. With the triumph, De Minaur climbed inside the qualification spots in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, passing Andrey Rublev to eighth.
De Minaur now trails sixth-placed Novak Djokovic by 165 points, with fellow Turin hopefuls Grigor Dimitrov (10th) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (11th) still alive in Paris.
Now that’s dead-ication 😜😈@alexdeminaur equals his personal-best 47th win of the season! #RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/mVDWpDwmnH
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 31, 2024
Draper’s intensity was palpable from the onset, but De Minaur bounced back in a near-flawless second set, during which he won 92 per cent (12/13) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
The 25-year-old maintained the momentum in the early stages of the final set, racing to a 2-0 lead. Despite relinquishing the break, De Minaur dialled back in to clinch victory in a gruelling two-hour, five-minute battle.
After equalling his personal-best 47th win of the season, De Minaur will next face lucky loser Arthur Cazaux or Holger Rune for a spot in the semi-finals.
More to follow…
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Alexander Zverev ended the run of French star Arthur Fils in front of an electric crowd at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday afternoon.
Backed by raucous home support on Court Central, Fils produced an intense performance and troubled the German with his dynamic game in an epic clash. However, with the pressure on, the 20-year-old ran out of steam in the decider, with World No. 3 Zverev earning a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 third-round victory in the French capital.
“I am happy I hung in there today. It was a great match,” Zverev said after improving to 3-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Fils. “He is a great player and has improved a lot this year. I am looking forward to the next few battles we are going to have.”
Zverev fired 16 aces and crucially saved three break points when serving for the match at 5-3. The German, who gained the decisive break of the third set in the fourth game, raised his arms aloft after sealing victory, silencing Fils and the French crowd in the process.
“The atmosphere here is a lot louder than at Roland Garros. It is crazy,” Zverev said. “It feels the court is smaller and the crowd is on top of you. It is like an indoor atmosphere as well. It is something we don’t get a lot on Tour but I love it. I love to play in Paris. It is one of my favourite cities in the world to play because of the crowd. They are very energetic and very loud.”
That was GUTSY 😤
No. 3 seed @AlexZverev is through to his 31st Masters 1000 quarter-final by edging past home hope Fils in an enthralling clash! #RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/R2PF71toBg
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 31, 2024
Into his 31st ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final and sixth in 2024, Zverev will look to continue his run when he meets Nitto ATP Finals hopeful Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last eight. Tsitsipas, who is 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, leads Zverev 10-5 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Zverev is 63-20 on the season, highlighted by his title at the Masters 1000 event in Rome. The 27-year-old, who reached the final in Paris in 2020, will finish his season next month at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 10-17 November.
The 20-year-old Fils was competing in the third round at a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time. The dynamic Frenchman, who is first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, earned wins against Marin Cilic and Jan-Lennard Struff earlier this week. However, the Hamburg and Tokyo champion was unable to find a way past Zverev, who held firm when serving out to seal victory after two hours and eight minutes.
In other action, Karen Khachanov moved past Alexei Popyrin 7-6(5), 6-4. Khachanov has fond memories in Paris, having lifted his only Masters 1000 trophy at the hard-court event in 2018. The World No. 21 will next meet Grigor Dimitrov or Arthur Rinderknech.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Could Stefanos Tsitsipas’ hard-fought win on Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters prove pivotal in his quest to qualify for his sixth consecutive Nitto ATP Finals?
The 10th seed dug deep for a 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Francisco Cerundolo to advance to his fourth quarter-final in Paris. With the victory, Tsitsipas climbed to 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but he will need a run to the final to stay in contention.
The former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings crossed the line with conviction to progress in two hours, 21 minutes. It was Tsitsipas’ second Lexus ATP Head2Head win over Cerundolo in as many weeks after he defeated the Argentine in their first-round clash in Basel.
Doing it the hard way 🥵@steftsitsipas rallies from a set down to defeat Cerundolo 6-7(1) 6-4 6-2 and reach the quarter-final in Paris for the fourth time!#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/HguSKLhMQF
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 31, 2024
Cerundolo, who recorded his 100th tour-level win on Tuesday, failed to convert all three of the break points he created in the opening set, according to Infosys ATP Stats. However, he produced a steely tie-break to move in front.
Tsitsipas shifted to a more aggressive approach at the beginning of the second set, and was rewarded in the third game when he secured his first break. From there, the World No. 11 further raised his level to surge to victory.
In the last eight at the indoor ATP Masters 1000, Tsitsipas will face either third seed Alexander Zverev or #NextGenATP star Arthur Fils.
Earlier, Jordan Thompson edged past wild card Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 7-6(5) to reach his maiden quarter-final at an ATP Masters 1000. With his two-hour, 20-minute triumph, the Australian is up to a career-high of No. 26 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
“It’s what we’ve been working towards, these big results at big tournaments,” said Thompson. “It got a little bit squeaky at the end there, but I did well to turn it around. I found some of my best points and managed to sneak out of the tie-break.”
Thompson saved two set points in the 12th game of the second set and rattled off four consecutive points from 3/5 in the tie-break to seal victory. The 30-year-old will face either home hope Ugo Humbert or World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz for a spot in the last four.
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