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How Zverev ‘having the feeling’ left Humbert reeling in Paris

  • Posted: Nov 03, 2024

Did Alexander Zverev surprise even himself with the quality of his championship-match display Sunday at the Rolex Paris Masters?

Ugo Humbert had delivered a series of classy performances that channelled his stirring home support en route to the final at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris-Bercy, including against Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. The Frenchman could do nothing to counter Zverev’s charge in the title showdown, however, and Zverev raced to a 6-2, 6-2 triumph in just 75 minutes.

“No, I didn’t have a feeling it was going to be two and two, but actually from the start and from the rallies in the first games, even when I lost the rallies, I felt like the ball was [feeling good] on my racquet,” reflected Zverev in his post-match press conference. “When I have this feeling, I feel well on the court. I feel comfortable and confident, maybe being a bit more aggressive, going for more shots than I usually do.

“Against him, it was important. I think he’s one of the best players when he’s aggressive. I think he maybe struggles a bit still when he has to defend, so when I put him in a position where he has to defend, I think that’s a position where I’m comfortable and he’s not. I felt great off the back of the court, and I think against him that was the key today.”

Victory in Paris was the perfect confidence-builder for Zverev ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals. The 27-year-old will now head to Turin for the prestigious season finale, where he is bidding to become a three-time titlist after his victories in 2018 in London and 2021 in Turin.

“I think for Turin, everybody becomes motivated,” said Zverev, when asked about his record at the Nitto ATP Finals. “It’s such a special tournament. It’s such a special atmosphere and feeling when you’re there and only eight players in the world are there.

“You feel special already playing there, so I think everybody is motivated. Everybody wants to win this title and play good tennis… You’re fighting all year to make the cut there, so I think once you’re there, you’re going to give it your best, and everybody else will as well. At the end of the day, you’re only playing the best eight players in the world. So there are no easy matches, and you have to play your best tennis from the first match on.”

After lifting his seventh Masters 1000 trophy, Zverev will on Monday return to his career high of No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings. While reaching No. 1 for the first time is high on the German’s list of goals, he believes he will only get there by fulfilling another long-held ambition, one that he will again push towards in 2025 — to become a major champion.

“I think now when everybody is playing and everybody is playing at full strength and everybody is healthy, you have to win Grand Slams to become World No. 1,” said Zverev. “I’m World No. 2 now, but I’m 3,000 points away from Jannik, more or less. I think without the Grand Slams and without the points of the Grand Slams, it’s not possible anymore.”

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Humbert : 'I gave it my all, I have no regrets'

  • Posted: Nov 03, 2024

Entering the Rolex Paris Masters, Ugo Humbert had never reached an ATP Masters 1000 final. So despite falling short Sunday in the championship clash to Alexander Zverev, the lefty was in good spirits.

“It was a beautiful week, despite my defeat today. My feeling is that I gave it my all, I have no regrets,” Humbert said. “He was stronger than me in every aspect of tennis. I couldn’t recover from yesterday’s match enough, but congrats to him.”

 

Zverev firmly took hold of the match early on and never let go, dominating the action from the outset in his 6-2, 6-2 victory. But Humbert battled until the end to try to thrill his home crowd.

“It was tough. I tried until the end to be faithful to myself, to my values, to put up a battle until the end. When it’s not over, there’s still hope, and with this public, it’s crazy,” Humbert said. “He missed two points only, the first two shots. And then he never missed afterwards. I believed in it until the end. I hoped that I would level the scores, but ultimately the scores were quite painful for me. So I fought until the end, and this is what I want to keep in mind.”

On Saturday, Humbert earned one of the biggest wins of his career against Karen Khachanov to make his maiden Masters 1000 final. But the 26-year-old was unable to produce his aggressive best on Sunday against Zverev.

“Physically, when I woke up this morning during the warmup it was not easy. I was tired. But I accepted that it was the way it was. Mentally, I also felt that I was less composed,” Humbert said. “As for him, his serve was amazing during the first set. I had no free points during the second set. Sometimes I could have some free points, but also, his forehand I thought that I could try to get something, but he gave me nothing. The only point I could get is when he had a crosscourt backhand. Otherwise nothing.”

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After a tournament in which Humbert upset four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz and broke new ground, he explained that he is not surprised by his performance.

“I felt that I was capable, so I’m not surprised that I reached that level, that I beat Alcaraz, to have reached the finals of a Masters 1000 tournament.” Humbert said. “I’m working hard. I have a great team around me to help me and guide me.

“So all in all, I’m glad that it paid off this week, but I’m not surprised to have reached that level.”

It was a thrilling week for the No. 14 player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He came within two sets of becoming the first French Rolex Paris Masters champion since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008.

“This tournament is amazing. The history, the track record of this tournament, with all the players who won this tournament, it’s crazy,” Humbert said. “I would have liked to etch my name on the trophy, but I did my utmost. I wanted to live this tournament intensively. This is what happened. Every match was riveting. I’m delighted that I could go through this experience with my team, my family, my friends, and the French public.”

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Zverev takes opening set vs. Humbert in Paris final

  • Posted: Nov 03, 2024

Alexander Zverev is just one set away from lifting his seventh ATP Masters 1000 title. The German leads Ugo Humbert 6-2 in the championship match at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings was dialled in from the outset, dismantling Humbert’s serve in the third game to silence the raucous French crowd. From there, Zverev pulled clear with imperious serving and did not drop a point behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

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If Zverev can go on to seal victory, he will move ahead of Jannik Sinner and record a Tour-leading 66th win of 2024. The 27-year-old holds a 22-13 record in finals.

To claim the seventh and biggest ATP Tour title of his career, Humbert will have to rally from a set deficit. The 26-year-old, who is 6-1 in finals, aims to become the first Frenchman to triumph in Paris since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did so in 2008.

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Koolhof/Mektic seal Tour-leading fifth title of 2024 in Paris

  • Posted: Nov 03, 2024

Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic are finishing with a flourish in their final season together. The sixth seeds rallied on Sunday to take home their fifth ATP Tour title of 2024 at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Koolhof and Mektic came alive in their first Match Tie-break of the week to defeat Lloyd Glasspool and Adam Pavlasek 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 in the championship match. With their Tour-leading fifth triumph of the season, the Dutch/Croatian duo rose to third in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

“It’s very special. To win three Masters in a year is an unbelievable achievement from both of us,” said Koolhof, who is retiring at the end of the season. “We hit a rough patch in the middle of the season but, before Shanghai, we knew what was at stake to make Turin.”

Having won the Nitto ATP Finals together in 2020, Koolhof and Mektic will return to Turin with their sights set on more glory at the season-ending finale.

“There’s still a lot to play for in Turin and at the Davis Cup,” added Koolhof, who will represent the Netherlands against Spain in the quarter-finals at the Davis Cup. “It will be special against Spain and against Rafa [Nadal]. He will be the main guy there, but I am going to try and throw a bit of sand into the Spanish engine.”

 

Koolhof and Mektic had not dropped a set all week but found themselves trailing in Sunday’s final against Glasspool and Pavlasek, who were playing in their first event as a team. However, they ignited some of their most clutch tennis in the second set, during which they saved each of the two break points they faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Their experience and quality then came to the fore in a near-flawless Match Tie-break to seal their third ATP Masters 1000 title of the season.

“We have such a good friendship, energy and understanding,” added Mektic. “On and off the court, we really enjoy it, and I think that’s crucial.”

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New World No. 2 Zverev says he hasn't broken Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly yet

  • Posted: Nov 02, 2024

The grind never stops for Alexander Zverev.

After securing a comprehensive semi-final victory over former champion Holger Rune at the Rolex Paris Masters Saturday, Zverev headed to the practice court, looking for incremental improvement that he hopes will allow him to challenge the duopoly at the top of the men’s game.

“For me, it’s about improving a few things. I feel like Jannik [Sinner] and Carlos [Alcaraz] are doing a few things better than me at the moment. I want to improve,” said Zverev.

“I want to improve not for tomorrow, not for today, or because of the matches I played here. I want to generally improve for next year as well.”

With his win over Rune, Zverev notched his 65th win of the year and tied Sinner for the most wins on Tour this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He also overtook Alcaraz and climbed to the No. 2 spot in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The German believes they are still at a higher level and that he needs to work hard to catch up.

“It’s nice to be back at the highest position that I have been so far. Of course, I want to get higher. But for me, Jannik has [had] the best year this season, and Carlos had the second-best year. He won two Grand Slams,” he shared.

“I know that I’m ahead of him in the rankings, but he won Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Those are two massive titles. So, they are still the two best players in the world, in my opinion, at the moment.”

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The 27-year-old, who is set to compete at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 10-17 November in Turin, is strategising to keep up with his two biggest rivals, and is focusing on increasing his intensity to match the level of aggression that they bring to their respective games.

“I think when they get an easy ball, when they’re in an attacking position, 90 per cent of the time the point is over, whether it’s a winner or an unforced error. That’s how hard they hit the ball, that’s how aggressive they are. I think in that aspect I can improve. That’s what I’m trying to do,” he said.

“Jannik has improved a lot this year. There are some things Carlos has improved. I think Novak, over the past 15, [or] 20 years, has improved every single year. If you ask him whether he’s a better tennis player last year, let’s say 2023 or 2022 even, or 10 years ago when he was younger, I think he would say that he’s a better tennis player now.”

After suffering a serious ankle injury at the 2022 Roland Garros and continuing to recover from it in 2023, the 27-year-old is pleased to return to his best level. Fresh off his maiden Grand Slam final at the 2020 US Open, Zverev had won six tour-level titles in 2021, including the Nitto ATP Finals, and was midway through one of the best Roland Garros semi-finals of the Open Era with Nadal with tragedy struck.

“There was a period where it was moving towards the direction of a little bit of a change, and then 2022 I felt like I was going [in] a very good direction at Roland Garros. I was going [to] hopefully to achieve my dream of winning Roland Garros. I was No. 2 in the world. I was very close to becoming World No. 1, as well. It was going in that direction, and then there was a two-year stop to that process. [For] two years I was not competitive for Grand Slams, not competitive for World No. 1 and those things,” he said.

“So I’m happy to be back where I am. “There was never a guarantee that I would be back at this level. For sure for me, it’s a great satisfaction to be back, but again, I want to improve and I want to go even higher.”

The German, chasing his seventh Masters 1000 title, will play Frenchman Ugo Humbert in his 12th Masters final in Paris on Sunday.

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Humbert rallies to Paris final after 13th consecutive indoor win

  • Posted: Nov 02, 2024

Ugo Humbert is an ATP Masters 1000 finalist. The French star moved past Karen Khachanov 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-3 on home soil at the Rolex Paris Masters on Saturday to advance to his maiden final at Masters 1000 level.

The 26-year-old played explosive tennis in front of an electric crowd in Paris and capitalised on Khachanov’s physical limitations in the closing stages of the third set to become the fifth Frenchman to reach the title match at the indoor hard event.

“It is amazing to do it in Paris at my favourite tournament. It is a dream,” Humbert said. “It was a little bit difficult compared to the previous matches. I felt a little more pressure and after the loss of the first set I tried to enjoy the moment and be with the crowd. I did very well and I am super proud.”

Humbert crushed the ball off both wings and soaked in the roars from the crowd to earn his 13th consecutive win on indoor hard courts in France. The 15th seed won the title in Metz last year and then triumphed indoors in Marseille in February.

Chasing his seventh tour-level title, Humbert will meet Alexander Zverev in the championship match on Sunday. Earlier this week, Humbert upset Carlos Alcaraz. The Frenchman, who hit 35 winners against Khachanov, is up four places to No. 14 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will rise to a career-high No. 11 on Monday if he wins the title.

Khachanov was competitive until 3-2 in the third set, when he received a medical timeout for a leg injury. The No. 21 player in the PIF ATP Rankings lost serve in the seventh game of the third set and was unable to move in the final two games of the two-hour, 48-minute match.

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Humbert is the first Frenchman to reach the final in Paris since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost to Roger Federer in the 2011 title match. The last Frenchman to win the crown was Tsonga in 2008.

Humbert will aim to take his standout 6-1 record in finals into Sunday’s meeting with Zverev. The lefty, who lost his first ATP Tour final in Tokyo last month to Arthur Fils, is level at 1-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Zverev. Earlier this year Humbert lifted trophies in Dubai and Marseille, while Zverev clinched the crown at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.

Khachanov is a former champion in Paris, having won the biggest title of his career in the French capital in 2018. The 28-year-old earned an impressive straight-sets win against Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals but ran out of steam against Humbert.

Khachanov finishes his year holding a 37-22 record, lifting trophies in Doha and Almaty.

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