For ten years, French Tennis has been chasing this moment. In the final moments at Bercy, its No. 1 player Ugo Humbert, facing world No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Sunday, can dream of a first Masters 1000 title in Paris, a feat not achieved by a French player since 2014.
What if the eastern Paris venue closed its nearly four-decade tennis history with a spectacular climax? What if Humbert (26) could turn it upside down one last time, after a week of dream performances in what he calls his “second home”?
Since 1986, Bercy has only seen three French winners: Guy Forget (1991), Sébastien Grosjean (2001), and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008). Will Humbert complete the lineup of champions on Sunday?
Will he also become the fifth French player to inscribe his name on the list of Masters 1000 champions? The first since Tsonga’s victory in Canada in the summer of 2014?
Across the net, Zverev has already claimed six Masters 1000 titles, most recently on the clay courts of Rome in May.
He played a final in the Paris hall in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, where he lost to Russian Daniil Medvedev (5-7, 6-4, 6-1) behind closed doors.
Is Humbert’s lack of experience a disadvantage in his first final at this level?
“He needs to really focus on his game, his intentions, and on himself, just like he has been doing since the beginning of the tournament. If he does that, even though it’s his first final, he has every chance of winning the title,” said his coach Jérémy Chardy.
– Zverev doesn’t want to “lose another one” –
“He’s not afraid to play against the best. Often there are players who are intimidated; he enters thinking he has just as much chance of winning as his opponent. That’s also why he wins,” explained the former top 30 player.
Round after round, Humbert has electrified Bercy, which is experiencing its final tennis thrills before moving to La Défense Arena in Nanterre in 2025. As one of five French players qualifying for the round of 16, he matched the tournament record. Then he took down world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and made his way into the final four, and now, for the first time, into the final of a Masters 1000.
A year ago, Humbert and Zverev faced off at Bercy in the second round. The match lasted three and a half hours, with the towering German (1.98m) narrowly prevailing 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,” Zverev said after his five-set defeat to Alcaraz at Roland-Garros.
Even if he doesn’t win on Sunday, Zverev is already assured of dislodging the Spaniard from the world No. 2 spot on Monday and matching his career-best ranking.
Humbert, on the other hand, would leap to the brink of the top 10 (11th) with a victory.
“This is the last Bercy. I want it to last as long as possible,” Humbert said on Saturday at the press conference.
Or how to turn off the lights with a first title.
