Ugo Humbert qualified for the knockout stages of the Australian Open taking advantage of the abandonment of his friend Arthur son, injured in the left ankle, at the beginning of the fourth set. Messin will challenge Alexander Zverev on Sunday, in a remake of the final of the last Rolex Paris Masters.
The Franco-French shock between Ugo Humbert and Arthur son turned short! The Ile -de -France did not manage to go after his third round of the Australian Open against Messin, due to an injury to the left ankle which forced him to abandon. The world n ° 21 preferred to throw in the towel at the start of the fourth set, realizing that he would not be able to raise his deficit of a set in this physical state. His opponent was not in great shape either, since he had asked for the physiotherapy at the start of the third set to massage his right shoulder. Humbert finally won over abandonment (4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 1-0) after 2h34 of play.
The start of the match had been tight between the two friends, who clashed for the sixth time (4-1 for Humbert, who had however lost their last match, in the final in Tokyo on October 1, 2024). Son was the first in Breaker, at 4-3, but he lost his service in the process … before resuming Humbert’s play to pocket the first set. The two players had trouble keeping their service and the Ile-de-France lost his own at the start of the second set, which allowed Messin to lead 2-0 then 4-2 and 5-3. When serving to equalize for a round everywhere, he conceded a white and son break picked up at 5-5 … but he lost his service on the next game, then the set (7-5).
And now, Zverev!
The counters were therefore reset, and it was at the beginning of the third set that the left ankle of threads turned. He then was treated twice, in vain. The 21st World Center hung on in the third round, which he lost by being breaking at 1-1 (6-4 for Humbert). He started the fourth but after being a breaker from the start on a white game, he went to shake hands with the referee, then that of his friend, who found himself in the round of 16 faster than he had imagined. Hopefully this is not too serious for Arthur Son, that France of tennis expects a lot this season. As for Humbert, he will challenge the world n ° 2 on Sunday Alexander Zverev, who has lost only one of his last fourteen games (in the semi-finals of the Masters against Fritz), and who had easily beat him in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters (6-2, 6-2). A match that Humbert had played after a week rich in emotions and where he had arrived physically and mentally tired. This should not be the case on Sunday, but the task promises to be immense. Humbert can however remember that he has already beat Zverev, on the grass of Halle in 2021.
