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Humbert declares himself primed for the big time after Paris Masters heroics

paul myers
·1-min read
Ugo Humbert reached his first final at a Masters 1000 event at the Paris Masters.

France's best tennis player Ugo Humbert emerged from the final at the Paris Masters targeting more shots at glory on the circuit's biggest stages despite a straight sets defeat to Alexander Zverev.

"I'm not surprised to see myself in a final," said the 26-year-old matter-of-factly just over an hour after Zverev deconstructed him 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday afternoon.

During the week at the Accor Arena in Bercy, south-eastern Paris, Humbert underlined his status as the country's number one talent with solid wins over lesser ranked adversaries Brandon Nakashima and Marcos Giron in the opening two rounds and the scalp of the world number two Carlos Alcaraz in the last-16.

The 15th seed accounted for Jordan Thompson in the quarter-final and the 2018 champion Karen Khachanov in the semis.

"I'm not shocked that I beat Carlos and then reached the final," added Humbert. "I've always felt myself capable of such things.

"I work seriously, I can construct my points and I have a solid game. I'm happy it was all on display this week at Bercy but I'm really not surprised to see myself at this level."

Rise

Humbert, who was born in Metz in eastern France in 1998, turned professional in 2016.

In January 2020, he won his first title on the senior circuit in Auckland, New Zealand. A second championship followed in October in Antwerp.


Read more on RFI English

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