Humbert starts strong to down de Minaur
UGO Humbert has claimed his second career Tour level title, defeating Australian Alex de Minaur in straight sets at the European Open in Antwerp, Belgium on the weekend. While de Minaur showcased some steely determination in the second set, Humbert had the confidence and momentum to get over the line in the 97-minute encounter, 6-1 7-6.
“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 first set saw everything go Humbert’s way, pressing hard and using his attacking nature to force errors from de Minaur, finishing his excellent first set in 37 minutes and winning consistently off de Minaur’s serve to get a look in at the title.
“I think I played very nicely on key points,” said Humbert. “In the tie-break, I tried to play [point-by-point], stay really focused and I did it. I am super proud of myself.”
With four aces to his name and a 72 per cent winning rate off his overall serve, Humbert utilised his own consistency and de Minaur’s inefficient serve, winning 59 per cent of points off the Australian’s second serve in an excellent effort, forcing de Minaur on the defensive and limiting easy points.
The Australian lifted his workrate in the second set, utilising his own serve much better and seeing the duo go game-for-game up until the latter stage, with Humbert coming off the better in the tiebreaker, 7-4. While de Minaur hit three more winners through (34-31), he was unable to break Humbert’s serve (converting zero break points from two opportunities) and ultimately could not weather the storm, backed into a corner by his average first set.
Humbert rises up the ranking once more with this victory, slotting in at a career-high 32nd on the world rankings (compared to 38th prior to this title), while de Minaur also rises to 25th from 29th, steadily getting back to his career-high 18th which he held from October 2019 through to January this year.
“This was a very important week for me,” de Minaur said post-match. “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.”
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