Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Friday January 17, 2025 at 12:13 p.m.
Ugo Humbert qualified for the round of 16 of the Australian Open by taking advantage of the retirement of his friend Arthur Fils, injured in his left ankle, at the start of the fourth set. Messin will challenge Alexander Zverev on Sunday, in a remake of the final of the last Rolex Paris Masters.
The Franco-French clash between Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils came to an end! The Ile-de-France native did not manage to complete his third round of the Australian Open against Messin, due to an injury to his left ankle which forced him to retire. The world No. 21 preferred to throw in the towel at the start of the fourth set, realizing that he would not be able to overcome his one-set deficit in this physical state. His opponent was not in great shape either, since he had requested the intervention of the physiotherapist at the start of the third set to massage his right shoulder. Humbert finally won after abandonment (4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 1-0) after 2h34 of play. The start of the match was close between the two friends, who faced each other for the sixth time ( 4-1 for Humbert, who however lost their last match, in the final in Tokyo on October 1, 2024). Fils was the first to break, at 4-3, but he lost his serve in the process… before taking back Humbert's throw-in to pocket the first set. Both players had difficulty holding their serve and the Ile-de-France native lost his at the start of the second set, which allowed Messin to lead 2-0 then 4-2 and 5-3. When serving to equalize at one set all, he conceded a blank break and Fils therefore got back to 5-5… but he lost his serve on the next game, then the set (7-5).
And now, Zverev!
The counters were therefore reset to zero, and it was at the start of the third set that Son's left ankle turned. He then sought treatment twice, to no avail. The 21st in the world held on in the third set, which he lost by being broken at 1-1 (6-4 for Humbert). He started the fourth but after being broken at the start of a shutout, he went to shake the referee's handthen that of his friend, who finds himself in the round of 16 more quickly than he had imagined. Let's hope that this is not too serious for Arthur Fils, who France tennis expects a lot this season. As for Humbert, he will challenge world No. 2 Alexander Zverev on Sunday, who has lost only one of his last fourteen matches (in the semi-final of the Masters against Fritz), and who easily beat him in the final. of the Rolex Paris Masters (6-2, 6-2). A match that Humbert played after a week full of emotions and where he arrived physically and mentally tired. This should not be the case on Sunday, but the task promises to be immense. Humbert will, however, be able to remember that he has already beaten Zverev, on the pitch in Halle in 2021.
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