Inspired Ugo Humbert downs Carlos Alcaraz in Paris

Ugo Humbert will compete in the quarter-final of the home Paris Masters! The top-ranked French player took down world no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and 16 minutes in front of the partisan crowd, remaining on the title course. Alcaraz suffered another early loss at the final Masters 1000 event of the season. He made a great comeback after a terrible opener but lost serve right before the deciding tie break, propelling his opponent over the finish line.  

Numbers behind Humbert’s win over Alcaraz

Ugo claimed seven points more than Carlos, mainly thanks to the opening set. The Frenchman defended his second serve nicely, erasing three of four break points in the second set and providing three breaks, the pivotal at 6-5 in the decider. Humbert landed 25 winners and 31 unforced errors, spraying too many forehand errors but leaving his rival on a 23-25 ratio. Ugo landed ten service winners more and used that advantage to cover the deficit from the baseline. Alcaraz played a bit better at the net, but it was insufficient to make the difference. World no. 2 had the upper hand in the more advanced exchanges. However, he trailed badly in the shortest ones, suffering a loss in that segment.

Humbert destroys Alcaraz 6-1 in the opener in 26 minutes

The home player dominated the court in the opening set, outplaying the four-time Major winner on serve and return and making a flying start. Ugo held at love in the first game of the encounter with a service winner and stepped in on the return in the next one. Carlos netted a routine backhand, playing against a break point and losing serve after the rival’s brilliant return, hitting a forced error and falling 2-0 behind. Humbert drew another mistake from world no. 2 in the third game, holding at 30 and opening a 3-0 advantage.

Feeling the vibes from the partisan crowd, a left-hander cracked a…