World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz suffers Paris Masters shock, as race for Turin heats up
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Spain's Carlos Alcaraz lost 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 to France's Ugo Humbert, ranked 18th.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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PARIS – World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz admitted that he was “not up to the level” of France’s 18th-ranked Ugo Humbert, who swept to a shock Paris Masters third-round victory over the Spanish superstar on Oct 31.
The left-hander came through 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 to register his first win over the French Open and Wimbledon champion, having lost twice to Alcaraz earlier in 2024.
It was a testing evening for the Spaniard, who was 0-5 down in the first set before he managed to get on the board.
“It was a very intense match. I started with some doubts about my game,” admitted Alcaraz.
“Against a player who attacks whenever he can, who hits very aggressively at the slightest opportunity, it wasn’t easy to get into the match.
“I was not up to the level he displayed. Ugo’s performance was really high. The way he hits the ball is incredible.”
Humbert, who has two titles from Marseille and Dubai in 2024, said that he was “super proud of myself”.
“It was a crazy match, a crazy atmosphere,” he added. “I went for every shot. That’s why I think I had less energy in the second set and in the third it was a mountain... But I trusted myself in big moments and I made some big shots.”
The French No. 1 just edged Alcaraz in winners with 28 to 23 while both men committed 38 unforced errors.
The 21-year-old Alcaraz has endured a roller-coaster second half of the season since his heartbreaking Paris Olympics final loss to Novak Djokovic.
He was knocked out in the second round of the US Open by the 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, defeated top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the Beijing final before a quarter-final exit to Tomas Machac, the world No. 33, at the Shanghai Masters.
Humbert goes on to face Australia’s Jordan Thompson for a place in the Paris Masters semi-finals. Their match started after press time on Nov 1.
Thompson, ranked 28th, made the quarter-finals of a Masters for the first time by beating Adrian Mannarino of France 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).
Meanwhile, Alex de Minaur’s bid to become the first Australian to feature in the ATP Tour Finals since Lleyton Hewitt 20 years ago was boosted when the ninth seed defeated Britain’s in-form Jack Draper 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
The win moved de Minaur into the eighth and final qualifying spot for the Turin end-of-season showpiece.
“I’m going to put my body on the line, try my hardest, show my opponent that I can do that all day. I needed to bring that intensity because Jack is a hell of a competitor, playing with so much confidence right now,” he said.
He next faces Denmark’s 13th seed Holger Rune, who ended the run of Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
German third seed Alexander Zverev knocked Stefanos Tsitsipas out with a 7-5, 6-4 win in the quarter-finals on Nov 1, ending the Greek’s hopes of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin for a sixth consecutive year.
While the opening set was a tight affair, the second was one-way traffic as world No. 3 Zverev built a 5-3 lead before wrapping up the victory in 1hr 40min.
“I thought the whole match was a very good level from him,” Zverev said. “I got into the match and I found my rhythm and felt more and more comfortable and am happy with the win.”
The 27-year-old, who improved his head-to-head record with Tsitsipas to 6-10, joins Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal as the only active players to reach 20 or more Masters semi-finals.
Tsitsipas had beaten Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 6-2 in the previous round, while Zverev defeated France’s Arthur Fils 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov, the champion in 2018, moved past Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 and will take on Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the last eight. AFP, REUTERS
