RED-hot duo, Ugo Humbert and Yannick Hanfmann continued their fantastic recent form to upset top 10 players, Daniil Medvedev and Gael Monfils at the Hamburg European Open today. All bar two of the Round of 32 matches were completed, with the top three seeds the major casualties of the day.

Humbert defeated Medvedev 6-4 6-3, dominating off his serve to win 70 and 63 per cent of his first and second serve points respectively off a 73 per cent efficiency. He also served three aces without a double fault, and broke three times to Medvedev’s one, with the match lasting an hour and 22 minutes. The win followed on from impressive wins over Kevin Anderson and Fabio Fognini last week in Rome, and Humbert said his confidence was building.

“I know I can play very nice on clay,” he said post-match. “Daniil is a very nice player. I am very happy with my first Top 10 win and for sure, it was one of my biggest wins today.”

Meanwhile German wildcard Hanfmann also took apart top Frenchman Monfils, 6-4 6-3 but only needed an hour and 14 minutes to do it. Hanfmann was outstanding by serving at a 69 per cent clip, breaking from both break point opportunities and serving two aces. Most importantly, he only dropped three of 35 points off his first serve, whereas Monfils – whilst still strong on serve – recorded a much lower 67 per cent efficiency. The Frenchman also served up three double faults without an ace.

The most anticipated match of the day was world number 11 Roberto Bautista Agut up against two-time defending champion, Nikoloz Basilashvili. In yet another 6-4 6-3 results, it was the fourth seed Spaniard who got up in an hour and 25 minutes to book his spot in the Round of 16. He served five aces and had a serving efficiency of 73 per cent, breaking four times to two, and doing enough to end the world number 33’s run before it got going. Bautista Agut is a new father, with his wife giving birth to his son Roberto just a week ago on September 15.

Sixth seed Fabio Fognini also advanced through to the next round with a hard-fought three-set victory over German wildcard Philipp Kohlscreiber. The sixth seed bounced back from his shock loss at Rome to win 4-6 6-1 7-5 in two hours and 20 minutes. He broke five times and brought up a total of 19 opportunities, attacking the counter puncher’s serve to win 43 per cent of his return points. Much stronger on serve, Fognini will now take on the winner of Rome semi-finalist Casper Ruud, or the returning Benoit Paire in the Round of 16.

In other results, Felix Auger-Aliassime posted a 6-2 7-6 win over Lorenzo Sonego to move through to the next round to take on Alexander Bublik. The Kazakh made the most of a lucky loser spot due to the withdrawal of Rome finalist, Diego Schwartzman with an upset 6-2 7-6 victory over Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Also through to the next round was Chile’s Cristian Garin who completely dominated Kei Nishikori 6-0 6-3, while Dusan Lajovic and Karen Khachanov will face off the Round of 16. Lajovic took down Adrian Mannarino in straight sets, while Khachanov had a real battle against Jan-Lennard Struff before posting a 7-6 4-6 7-5 victory.

The final two matches between Ruud and Paire, and second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniel Evans will be completed tomorrow, with Garin and Hanfmann, and Bublik and Auger-Aliassime the other matches on Centre Court for the day session.

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