The Frenchman got the better of the Lebanese qualifier in three rounds to join Arthur Fils in the third round in Melbourne.
The French number 1 Ugo Humbert (14th in the world) swept aside the Lebanese Hady Habib (219th) on Wednesday in the 2nd round of the Australian Open to offer himself a derby against his French runner-up in the world ranking, Arthur Fils (21st), in the next round in Melbourne. In a stadium largely favorable to Habib, the first Lebanese to play a Grand Slam in singles since 1962, the 26-year-old left-hander from Metz won (6-3, 6-4, 6-4) a match postponed by a few hours due to rain. which hit Melbourne late in the afternoon.
In the 3rd round, Humbert will face his compatriot Arthur Fils, winner a few minutes earlier of his 2nd round against another Frenchman, the 74th in the world Quentin Halys, dominated (6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-5). Messin leads 3-1 in the confrontations with his younger brother, but Son (20 years old) won the last duel between the two Frenchmen, played at the beginning of October in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo. Humbert reached the 3rd round in Melbourne on Wednesday for the third year in a row, a stage which he has never managed to surpass.
