In the round of 16 of the Australian Open, three months after the 6-2 double inflicted by Alexander Zverev on French No. 1 Ugo Humbert in the final of the Masters-1000 in Paris, the German (world No. 2) and the French meet on Sunday in Melbourne.
Three months after the double 6-2 inflicted by Alexander Zverev on French No.1 Ugo Humbert in the final of the Masters-1000 in Paris, the German and the French meet on Sunday in Melbourne in the round of 16 of the Australian Open . At the beginning of November at Bercy, “when I took 2 and 2 in front of 15,000 people, I felt a little alone all the same”, laughed the 26-year-old Messin on Friday evening after the abandonment of his compatriot Arthur Fils in the 3rd round , which qualified him for this rematch against the world No.2.
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“I’m going to try to do it a little differently.”
“He played really well, he was “impossible to overwhelm,” so here I’m going to try to do a little differently,” continued the 14th in the world. Last obstacle on the road to a first Grand Slam quarter-final for Ugo Humbert, Alexander Zverev has impressed since the start of the Australian fortnight.
The 27-year-old German is the only qualifier for the round of 16 not to have conceded a set in the first three rounds, after Australian Alex De Minaur (8th) conceded his first set of the tournament on Saturday during his victory against the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (31st) in the 3rd round. “Everyone knows what my goals and dreams are, right?” said Alexander Zverev before the tournament, still looking for a first Grand Slam title after two lost finals, at the US Open in 2020 and at Roland-Garros in 2024.
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“When you arrive at a Grand Slam as world number 2, you can only want to win the tournament,” warned Humbert’s executioner at Bercy.
-“No choice”
The Frenchman does not leave beaten in advance, however, recalling that he has already defeated Zverev in his native country, on the turf of Halle in 2021. Sunday's meeting is also the first on neutral ground, after this duel won by the Frenchman in Germany and two victories for Zverev against Humbert in Paris. “I am capable of beating the very best,” insists the French No.1.
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“When I arrive on the court, I believe in it 100% every time, from start to finish, even if you (…) have to remain humble,” he continues. “I played (world No.3 Carlos) Alcaraz and +Djoko+ (Novak Djokovic, winner of 24 major tournaments) in my last two eighths” of the Grand Slam finals, in 2019 and in 2024 at Wimbledon, recalls the left-handed with a backwards cap.
“Here I'm playing Zverev, it's not one of the easiest rounds, but if I want to go further” in the major tournaments, “I have no choice, I'm going to have to beat these kinds of players”, considers Humbert again. The French No.1 will perhaps be inspired by the feat of his elder Gaël Monfils (41st), who eliminated world No. 4 Taylor Fritz on Saturday, for his first Grand Slam victory against a member of the top 5 since 2008.
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Massaged in the shoulder during his victory in the 3rd round against Arthur Fils, forced to retire by foot pain, Humbert assured Friday that there was no medical concern to have concerning him. “I hurt myself on a serve, I felt that something had moved, and that created tension,” explained Messin. “As soon as I raised my arm to serve, I couldn’t extend 100%, and then I had pain on my backhand,” he detailed.
But after the massage, “it was getting better and better. Honestly, I’m not super worried, it’s going to be fine,” guarantees Humbert.
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