The duel between Alexander Zverev and Ugo Humbert is scheduled from 3:00 p.m. on the central court of Bercy.
Ten years that French tennis has been chasing. For the last moments in Bercy, his No.1 Ugo Humbert, facing world No.3 Alexander Zverev in the final this Sunday, can dream of a first Masters 1000 coronation in Paris, an unprecedented performance for a French player since 2014.
What if the venue in eastern Paris closed its almost four decades of tennis history in apotheosis? What if Humbert (26 years old) made her capsize, one very last time, after a week of dreams in what he described as a “second home”? Until then, since 1986 and before this 39th edition, Bercy has only had three French winners: Guy Forget (1991), Sébastien Grosjean (2001) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008). Will Humbert complete the final four on Sunday? Will he also become the fifth French player to register his name on the Masters 1000 list? The first since Tsonga's victory in Canada in the summer of 2014?
On the other side of the net, Zverev has already won six times in Masters 1000. Most recently, on the clay court of Rome in May. In the Parisian room, he has already played a final, in 2020: behind closed doors in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, he lost to the Russian Daniil Medvedev (5-7, 6-4, 6-1).
Is the lack of experience detrimental to Humbert, for the first time in the final of a tournament of this caliber? “He needs to really focus on his game, his intentions, on himself, what he's been doing since the start of the tournament. If he does that, even if it's his first final, he has all his chances of winning the title”believes his trainer Jérémy Chardy.
Zverev doesn't want to lose another one
“He is not afraid to play against the best. Often there are those who are impressed; he comes home saying to himself that he has the same chance of winning” than his opponent. “That’s also why he wins”explains the former top 30 player. Round after round since the start of the week, Humbert has made Bercy shiver, which is experiencing its last tennis emotions before the move to La Défense Arena in Nanterre from 2025. First by being one of the five French players qualified for the round of 16, a record equaled for the Paris tournament. Then by bringing down world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz. Finally by successively inviting himself, for the first time, to the last four, then to the final in the Masters 1000.
A year ago, Humbert and Zverev had already faced each other at Bercy, then in the second round: the duel had stretched over three and a half hours and the tall German (1.98 m) had ended up escaping. narrowly 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/5). “This is my second final in Paris this year. I hope not to lose another one,” said Zverev, beaten at Roland Garros in five sets by Alcaraz.
Even if he does not win on Sunday, Zverev is already assured of dislodging the Spaniard from second place in the world on Monday and equaling the best ranking of his career. Humbert would jump to the edge of the top 10 (11th) in the event of a triumph. “It’s the last Bercy, I want it to last as long as possible”Humbert hoped on Saturday at a press conference. Or how to turn off the light for the first time.
