The 25-year-old Ugo Humbert secured his fifth ATP championship at his home tournament in Marseille, defeating the 2nd seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in a match that lasted one hour and 23 minutes. The left-handed player displayed flawless tennis, never allowing his opponent to break his serve and managing to break Dimitrov’s serve once in each set, ultimately claiming his fifth ATP trophy in as many finals.
This achievement makes Humbert the eighth player in the Open era to have a perfect record in their first five ATP title matches, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Carlos Alcaraz. Additionally, Ugo becomes the seventh French player to win in Marseille, ending a seven-year drought for the country.
By winning this tournament, Humbert earns 250 ATP points, which propels him to a career-high ranking and surpasses Adrian Mannarino as the top-ranked French player for the first time. Throughout the match, Ugo maintained control with his initial serve, successfully fending off two break points early in the second set and keeping the pressure on his opponent.
Grigor Dimitrov, who was aiming for his second title of the season following his victory in Brisbane, struggled with his second serve and experienced two breaks in this match. The encounter began with nine comfortable service holds in just under half an hour. Humbert took a 2-1 lead with a serve and volley combination, but Dimitrov swiftly responded by winning the fourth game to love with a powerful serve.
In the seventh game, the left-handed player showcased another impressive hold, repeating this feat at 4-4 to maintain the pressure on his opponent. Dimitrov missed crucial opportunities in the tenth game, which ultimately proved costly. Ugo extended the game and capitalized on his second set point with a backhand crosscourt shot, as Dimitrov made an unforced error with a routine forehand, resulting in a lost service game and a 6-4 victory for Humbert in the opening set.
At the start of the second set, Ugo faced his only moment of vulnerability on serve, losing his first service game. However, he swiftly recovered, denying Dimitrov’s first break point with a powerful serve and watching as the Bulgarian squandered the second chance with an errant forehand. From that point on, Dimitrov failed to create any more opportunities to break his opponent’s serve.
The Bulgarian paid the price for his struggles early in the second set, as he netted a backhand and found himself trailing by a set and a break. Ugo confidently held serve in the third game to solidify his lead and extended it to 4-1 with a well-placed service winner in the fifth game.
Continuing his dominance, the Frenchman effortlessly held serve at love in the seventh game, increasing his advantage to 5-2 and edging closer to victory. Dimitrov served to stay in the match in the eighth game, successfully holding serve without dropping a point and giving himself one last opportunity to extend the battle. However, Ugo swiftly created two match points with a forehand crosscourt winner in the ninth game. He converted the second match point with a powerful serve, securing his fifth ATP title and maintaining his perfect record in ATP finals.
According to the Source tennisworldusa.org