Humbert Downs De Minaur To Claim Antwerp Crown
Ugo Humbert produced an impressive attacking performance to capture his second ATP Tour title on Sunday with a 6-1, 7-6(4) victory against Alex de Minaur in the European Open final in Antwerp.
“It is one of my biggest wins,” said Humbert. “I am super happy to win my second title this year against a really great player. I was aggressive like the previous matches and I am super happy to do it.”
The 22-year-old dictated rallies with his forehand and served well throughout the one-hour, 37-minute encounter. Humbert is the third Frenchman to capture the Antwerp crown in the tournament’s five-year history, alongside 2016 winner Richard Gasquet and 2017 titlist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The World No. 38 also joins Montpellier and Rotterdam champion Gael Monfils as the second French player to capture multiple ATP Tour trophies in 2020.
Just 24 hours ago, Humbert was forced to save four match points in his three-hour, 12-minute semi-final win against Daniel Evans. The left-hander is the fourth player this season to save a match point en route to a tour-level title.
“Tennis is completely crazy sometimes,” said Humbert. “It was great to win against Evans yesterday with four match points [saved]. I don’t know what happened today, it was a really nice level, a great match.”
2020 Champions To Save Match Point
| Player | Tournament | Opponent | Round | M.P. Saved |
| Jiri Vesely | Pune | Ilya Ivashka Ricardas Berankis |
QF SF |
2 M.P. 4 M.P. |
| Reilly Opelka | Delray Beach | Milos Raonic | SF | 1 M.P. |
| Novak Djokovic | Dubai | Gael Monfils | SF | 3 M.P. |
| Ugo Humbert | Antwerp | Daniel Evans | SF | 4 M.P. |
Humbert attacked De Minaur’s serve with consistent depth on his return and stepped inside the court to rip multiple forehand winners down the line in a dominant 37-minute first set. With Humbert unable to convert the only break points of the second set at 4-4, a tie-break was needed. The Frenchman played with aggression from the baseline to overpower his opponent and he converted his first championship point with a forehand drop volley. Humbert sunk to his knees and screamed with joy after claiming the trophy.
“I think I played very nicely on key points,” said Humbert. “In the tie-break, I tried to play [point-by-point], stay really focussed and I did it. I am super proud of myself.”
De Minaur was bidding to clinch his first title of the 2020 season. The #NextGenATP Australian, who captured the first three titles of his career in 2019, beat former champion Gasquet, Feliciano Lopez, Marcos Giron and Grigor Dimitrov to reach his seventh ATP Tour final (3-4).
“This was a very important week for me,” said De Minaur during the trophy ceremony. “I have managed to get back to the level I wanted to play at and play another final, which is great for me. I am very happy with where I am. This is a huge step in the right direction.”
Humbert (22) and De Minaur (21) were contesting the fifth-youngest final on the ATP Tour this year. The youngest final of 2020 was held at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, where Stefanos Tsitsipas (21) defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime (19) to claim the title. Four of the five youngest finals on Tour this season have been won by the older finalist.
Humbert earned 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points and €30,160. De Minaur collected 150 points and €24,000.