One final, two Frenchmen. This is a rare thing, so let’s not shy away from our pleasure and waste the moment. The last time that two Habs faced each other with a title at stake was fifty-six months ago. Almost five years. It was in Auckland, in January 2020, at the dawn of a year that would not be like any other since it would be that of Covid-19. Ugo Humbert was already in the game and the young Lorraine, then aged 21, had played (and won) his very first final on the circuit.
This is therefore not common on the scale of modern French tennis. In the Open era, no more. The duel between Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils will be the 32nd in the final for French men’s tennis. 32 in 56 years, we are not exactly on a particularly frenetic recurrence. And this is even less true in a tournament of the stature of Tokyo, that is to say an ATP 500. Only once has a 500 ended with two Blues in the final, in Vienna, in 2017, when Lucas Pouille had gotten the better of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Humbert holds his 7th final: the highlights of his victory over Machac
Ups and downs, hot and cold
In the Austrian capital, seven years ago, the picture was roughly comparable. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was then seeded number 8 while being 15th in the world. In Tokyo, the last protected spot (N°8 there too) was the property of Ben Shelton. Which means that neither Humbert (18th at the start of the tournament) nor Fils (25th) were seeded. This is why seeing them both in the final is, if not an immense feat, in any case a real solid performance.
Between them, they eliminated four members of the Top 20: Taylor Fritz (No. 7), Holger Rune (No. 14), Ben Shelton (No. 15) and Jack Draper (No. 20). Special mention to Arthur Fils, winner of the first three named to make his way to the final. So, yes, they also had a small part of success by each benefiting from a retirement (Matteo Berrettini for Fils, Draper for Humbert) but their journey remains no less remarkable.
Everything has not always been rosy for the French this year. They lacked scale in major events, whether Grand Slam tournaments (with the exception of Wimbledon) or the Olympic Games. They did not demonstrate consistency. Humbert, for example, had a huge month of February (two consecutive titles in Marseille and Dubai) but had not really shone since. Son, too, blew hot and cold. So seeing them perform together in such a tough tournament is refreshing.
Everything is not erased, everything is not settled, but this final between the two best Tricolores feels good. “I give the same speech as after the US Open, Nicolas Mahut explains to us. We always draw big conclusions after major events. That is to say that after the Olympics and the US Open, where there were early eliminations, we point the finger at the level of French tennis. Same for the Davis Cup. But, taking a step back…“
After Fritz and Shelton, Son dismisses Rune after another big fight
Mahut: “You have to be patient”
With a little height, the observation on the big meetings remains, but the reasons for hope emerge. “We see players making full progress, notes the new Eurosport consultant. Ugo will be in the Top 15, Arthur in the Top 20, Mpteshi Perricard who was not in the 200 and is knocking on the door of the first fifty. We had Arthur Cazaux in 8th in Melbourne before being reduced by injuries. All these guys are under 23. So you have to be patient. We don’t yet have the density that we had between Jo, Gaël, Richard and Gilles but it’s coming.”
Through their brilliant Japanese pas de deux, Humbert et Fils justify their status as the double locomotive of French tennis. “It’s great“, relishes the younger of the two at the mention of this 100% “French touch” duel. Even if, between the fatigue of the last few days, where he undoubtedly left more rubber than his elder, the fact of having later finished his semi-final and his past against Humbert who looks like a liability, he is moderately optimistic But he likes his position, ultimately: “I’ve always lost to Ugo, so I’m going to enter the court with the mindset of an outsider and it’s always better that way.” In Hamburg, that smiled on him against Zverev, so…
Either way, on Tuesday, France is certain to win. And it doesn’t happen that often for him to have this certainty before a final on the circuit…
Humbert passes a Draper hit in the abdominals: images of his qualifying in the half
