In the Paris Masters final match, third seed Alexander Zverev defeated home favorite Ugo Humbert 6-2, 6-2. With this win, he reclaimed his spot as number two in the global rankings.
Zverev said: “That was a performance to match the occasion… It was pretty good I have to say. I knew I had to play like this to win. Ugo is an incredible player. Plus him playing in Paris, I think he played even better than he usually does.”
He added: “I want to thank my team. The work we’ve done over the past two and a half years to be back in this position, everyone had to sacrifice so much. To be able to play on these beautiful courts again.”
With several mistakes from Humbert, the Roland Garros runner-up took the first set. Zverev then showed exceptional play in the second set.
“To win the title here in Paris means the world to me but I’m sure it also means the world to everybody sitting in my box. They’ve done so much to help me lift this title,” Zverev said.
In a social media post, the athlete stated: “Paris, our love story finally has a happy ending ❤️🔥🏆”
Ugo Humbert advanced to the ATP Paris Masters quarter-finals for the second time after defeating youngster Carlos Alcaraz.
Humbert won against the four-time Grand Slam champion 6-1, 3-6, 7-5, matching the greatest victory of his career — a victory against Daniil Medvedev, then No. 2 in the world, two years ago.
In an attempt to win his seventh career title, Humbert will now compete against Jordan Thompson for a spot in the Masters 1000 event’s semi-finals.
Highlights of the match
In the opening set, the 15th-seeded Humbert almost sealed an exceptional win over Alcaraz to impress the Paris crowd. He then gave his opponent a challenge as he won a double break and extended his lead by five games.
Alcaraz then upped his game and put a score on the board, but Humbert had four chances to win the set and he only needed one to seal his win.
In the second set, Humbert denied Alcaraz the lead by saving his first three break points in the fourth game. However, Humbert was unable to withstand the pressure and lost the sixth game when Alcaraz took over in an attempt to tie the match.
In a suspenseful final set, both players were tough on serve. As the crowd grew in favor of Humbert, Alcaraz was unable to stop him from gaining a decisive break in the 12th game.
After his victory, Humbert said: “I’m just super proud of myself that I did it… It was a crazy match, a crazy atmosphere…. It was a really big match.”
Alexander Zverev easily defeated Tallon Griekspoor -6(2), 6-3 at the start of his Paris Masters campaign.
Third seed Zverev was in excellent form, hitting 19 winners, committing only nine unforced errors, and completing 86% of his first serves. After winning the match, the athlete declared: “One of the fastest courts I’ve ever played on. I had to find my rhythm in the beginning but was happy to come through in the end.”
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev, the fourth seed from Russia, lost to Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4).
Australia’s Popyrin survived a second-set breakdown to secure a spot in the next round, while former US Open winner Medvedev was unable to advance. Medvedev pulled out in a controversy at the same event last season after making an offensive gesture to the fans.
American athletes Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton were also eliminated from the tournament. Fifth seed Fritz was defeated 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4 by Jack Draper of Britain in a close match, while Shelton was defeated 6-3, 7-6(4) by Arthur Cazaux, the Frenchman who entered the event after top player Jannik Sinner withdrew due to a virus.
Carlos Alcaraz, the world’s second-ranked tennis player, appears to be in a downward spiral ever since he won the Wimbledon title with a stunning 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, victory over Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard, who is only 20 years old, has not won a tournament in several months.
Then came his most catastrophic setback of all time: Alcaraz lost in the first round of the Paris Masters, much to the surprise of many fans.
Alcaraz vs. Safiullin
Alcaraz’s entry in the Paris Masters was highly anticipated, as it was supposed to be his resurgence following his withdrawal from the ATP Swiss Indoors Basel due to his left foot sole’s inflammation and gluteal muscle difficulties.
And, just a few days before the event, Alcaraz was also seen in an intense practice session with his arch-rival Djokovic, adding to the excitement and hope that the two would reprise their dramatic Wimbledon encounter.
The best points and shots from today’s special practice session between Alcaraz and Djokovic 💥 pic.twitter.com/1WGEkwZEbS
But unfortunately, all that hype came to an end after Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin, a player who’s ranked 43 places lower than him, defeated the Spaniard 6-3,6-4.
An article from CNN wrote that the setback was difficult for him because he had high expectations for himself this time.
“It’s even more difficult, above all for me, to lose in the first rounds of a tournament that you expect to make the finals or where you expect a lot of yourself, it hurts. It hurts a lot,” Alcaraz said.
In addition, he also said that after his defeat, he needs to make many improvements in his game.
Via The Tennis Letter: “Right now I’m not in the right time to talk. Honestly after the loss, I have to take some time, you know, before thinking about the next days & what I have to do or what I’m gonna do.. But obviously before the ATP Finals begin, we have time. I just didn’t feel well on the court. A lot of things to improve, a lot of things to practice. I didn’t feel well in the game. I didn’t move well. In the shots, I think I had a good quality of shots. But, you know, physically in the part of movement, I have to improve a lot.”
Alcaraz congratulates opponent
Despite his defeat, Alcaraz greeted Safiullin in the center of the court, shook hands, and even had a conversation with him, during which he was spotted smiling.
In an X post, Alcaraz also congratulated his foe for winning the match, writing, “Congratulations on the victory Roman! 🤝🏻 I am saying goodbye to Paris much sooner than I wanted 🥲 Now it is time to prepare my game for the ATP Finals in Turin!”
Congratulations on the victory Roman! 🤝🏻 I am saying goodbye to Paris much sooner than I wanted 🥲 Now it is time to prepare my game for the ATP Finals in Turin!
In an exciting China Open final, world no. 1 Jannik Sinner was defeated by rising athlete Carlos Alcaraz after falling behind in the first set.
The young athlete maintained his excellent playing form against the Italian, and has now won all three of their matches with a performance record of 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3). Overall, the Spaniard has won 16 career titles, including four on the ATP Tour this year.
With his win, Alcaraz admitted: “Jannik once again showed he’s the best player in the world, he’s unbelievable and plays at such a high level of tennis… I had my chances in the first set and didn’t take it. In general, I’m proud of the way I dealt with the match and managed everything.”
He added: “I never lose hope but I know he has great stats. I knew I had to give everything I had to give myself the opportunity.”
In a social media post, the athlete shared: “very special 🏆 to end the week after a huge battle with @janniksin! 🤝🏻 Very proud and happy! ❤️”
After a shocking second-round loss at the US Open, Alcaraz has recovered and won nine straight games including the Laver Cup last month with Team Europe.
When the athlete took a 5-2 lead in the first set, it appeared that Alcaraz had an ideal start. However, Sinner bounced back and saved two set chances to have a tie-break. The third game had been the turning point as Alcaraz took advantage of a break and went on to serve out the set.
Sinner overcame and won three straight games to have a match-ending tiebreaker. After taking a 3-0 lead, it seemed that Sinner was well-controlled, but Alcaraz was unstoppable. Taking his third straight triumph, he defeated the two-time Grand Slam champion with seven consecutive points.
With Alcaraz leading a head-to-head match with a score of 6-4, it was another excellent demonstration of what the Beijing tennis scene has to offer for the future of tennis. More so, this victory allowed Alcaraz to become the first athlete to win an ATP 500 title on each of the three surfaces.
Bulgarian player and World No. 17 Grigor Dimitrov was visibly emotional following a thrilling final match at the Rolex Paris Masters. Dimitrov, seated on a bench, partially covered his face with a white towel, exposing only his tearful eyes.
And upon realizing the state that Dimitrov was in, his big-time rival and friend Novak Djokovic abruptly stopped his interview in the middle and rushed over to him to console and embrace him.
It was a beautiful display of sportsmanship between the two tennis veterans, who had come a long way since their professional tennis debut in the early 2000s (2003 for Djokovic and 2008 for Dimitrov).
In an interview, Grigor clarified that those were tears of happiness and that he didn’t want anyone to interpret his feelings negatively.
“Those are happy tears. I don’t want to have them as something negative. I’m human, after all. At the end of the day, I think just the buildup, not only of the last two weeks, the last months of hard work and the big trip in China, everything has been kind of snowballing day after day, match after match,” Dimitrov said as per the ATP tour.
Dimitrov had fought valiantly in the Rolex Paris Masters Final. But even after losing to Djokovic in straight sets of 6-4,6-3, Dimitrov had nothing but kind words to say about the Serb in the awarding ceremony.
“ Honestly I’m so grateful. Novak congrats. I don’t know what to say man. I’m running out of words. Honestly congrats for another amazing week to you and your team. My team, my guys, we’ve had a blast. Thank you to everyone in the box. It’s been an amazing journey this year. Completing another year on such a high note. I’m very pleased with that,” Dimitrov said.
Dimitrov also expressed his gratitude towards the crowd, saying, “Getting to the final means more than what you guys could imagine. It wouldn’t have been possible without you guys.”
Djokovic, in turn, acknowledged Dimitrov’s remarkable performance during the week and expressed his congratulations, “Grigor, sorry about the outcome today. It’s never easy to lose in a final. I want to encourage you to stay tough & keep going. You played some of the greatest tennis I’ve seen you play this week & the last few months. Keep going. Congrats to your team & your family.”
Following his impressive performance in Paris, Dimitrov is set to climb three spots to 14 in Monday’s Pepperstone ATP Rankings, his highest ranking since dropping out of the top 10 in November 2018.
