World number two Carlos Alcaraz admitted he “wasn’t up to par” with 18th-ranked Frenchman Ugo Humbert, who scored a surprise third-round victory at the Paris Masters over the Spanish superstar on Thursday.
Left-hander Humbert won 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 to record his first victory against the French Open and Wimbledon champion after losing twice to Alcaraz earlier in 2024.
It was a testing evening for Alcaraz who led 0-5 in the first set before managing to get on the board.
“It was a very intense match. I started with some doubts about my game. Against a player who attacks whenever he can, who strikes very aggressively at the slightest opportunity, it was not easy to “getting into the match,” admitted Alcaraz.
“I wasn’t up to his level. Ugo’s performance was really high. The way he hits the ball is incredible.”
Humbert, who has two titles in Marseille and Dubai in 2024, said he was “super proud of myself”.
“It was a crazy match, a crazy atmosphere.”
Alcaraz, 21, has had an up-and-down second half of the season since his heartbreaking defeat in the Paris Olympics final against Novak Djokovic.
He was knocked out in the second round of the US Open by 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp and beat No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Beijing final before being eliminated in the quarterfinals at the hands of Tomas Machac, the world number 33. . the Shanghai Masters.
Humbert will then face Australian Jordan Thompson for a place in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.
The French number one edged out Alcaraz as the winner on Thursday with 28 to 23 while the two men committed 38 unforced errors.
Thompson, ranked 28th, reached the quarterfinals of a Masters for the first time by beating Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 7-6 (7/5).
Meanwhile, Alex de Minaur’s bid to become the first Australian to make the ATP Tour Finals since Lleyton Hewitt 20 years ago was boosted when the ninth seed beat in-form Briton Jack Draper 5 -7, 6-2, 6-3.
The victory moved De Minaur into the eighth and final qualifying spot for the end-of-season showpiece in Turin.
“I’m going to put my body on the line, do my best, show my opponent that I can do it all day. I needed to bring that intensity because Jack is such a competitor, he plays with so much confidence right now,” De Minaur said.
He will next face 13th seed Holger Rune of Denmark, who ended the streak of lucky French loser Arthur Cazaux 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas said he felt like a “bull” as he kept his slim hopes of qualifying for the ATP Tour Finals alive, battling back from a set down to beat Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (1/7) , 6-4, 6. -2.
“At the start of the second set I felt like a bull,” said Tsitsipas, 26, who probably needs a run to the Paris final to stay in contention for Turin.
The 11th-ranked Greek will next face world number three Alexander Zverev, who beat Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, for a place in the semi-finals.
Zverev fired 16 aces and saved three break points as he served for the clash at 5-3 in the decider.
The German star will play his 31st Masters quarter-final when he faces Tsitsipas who has won 10 of the duo’s 15 meetings.
The Russian Karen Khachanov, 2018 champion in Paris, beat Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 and will then face the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov or the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
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