Lob and Smash
Fansided

European Euphoria: Ugo Humbert makes his mark in 2020

By Yaseen Hijazi

ATTENTION EDITORS - HAND OUT - EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO SALES - NO MARKETING - French Ugo Humbert celebrates after winning a tennis match between Australian De Minaur and French Humbert, the finals of the men's singles competition at the European Open Tennis ATP tournament in Antwerp, Sunday 25 October 2020. BELGA PHOTO LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ (Photo by LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
ATTENTION EDITORS - HAND OUT - EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO SALES - NO MARKETING - French Ugo Humbert celebrates after winning a tennis match between Australian De Minaur and French Humbert, the finals of the men's singles competition at the European Open Tennis ATP tournament in Antwerp, Sunday 25 October 2020. BELGA PHOTO LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ (Photo by LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

This year’s European Open featured a bout between 2 brilliant youngsters. Read how Ugo Humbert overcame Alex de Minaur to claim victory in Antwerp 2020.

In what has been an extraordinary year of tennis for the youth of the ATP, we are once again bearing witness to a generation of up-and-comers as Ugo Humbert leaves his mark in Antwerp, Belgium by taking down Alex de Minaur to claim the title of 2020 European Open champion. The young Frenchman demonstrated a high level of play all throughout the tournament and sealed off a great tournament run by besting the young Aussie 8th-seed in straight sets.

Prior to the finals, Alex de Minaur had overcome 4th-seed Grigor Dimitrov in a 3-set thriller where he showed great tenacity backed up by a superior 1st-serve win percentage to get the semi-final win and set up what was expected to be a tight finals match. None could have predicted what was to come next however, as Ugo Humbert demonstrated an incredible counter-attack effort against de Minaur’s serve, breaking the Aussie twice before running away with the first set with a very convincing 6-1 scoreline.

The second set showed a lot more promise for Alex de Minaur, as he began to exert a more competitive spirit during rallies as well as an improved service game percentage, with both players going neck-to-neck as they held all of their serves. Inevitably, the set had reached a tie-break decider, in which Ugo Humbert had finally broken serve to gain a 6-4 lead in the tie-breaker and 2 match points, as he sealed the deal with a stunning first-serve followed by a beautiful match-ending volley to secure a 6-1 7-6(4) finals victory in Antwerp.

Ugo Humbert’s victory at the 2020 European Open represents his 2nd ATP career title, his first also being achieved earlier this year in January at the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. Humbert defeated his fellow countryman Benoît Paire in a close 3-set match to claim his first ATP men’s singles title, wrapping up an excellent tournament performance in which he also bested the likes of John Isner and Denis Shapovalov, both of whom were top 20 players at the time.

In addition to his two career titles this year, Ugo Humbert made a strong impact at the Hamburg European Open this year as well, achieving a career-first win over a top 10 player as he knocked out the 1st-seed and world no. 5 at the time, Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. Despite eventually being knocked out himself in the quarter-finals, the Hamburg European Open of 2020 was a career-defining tournament for the young Frenchman, who showed he can contend with some of the most elite players in the game.

Next. Zverev's Cologne win strengthens ATP Finals case. dark

From his victory in Auckland, to his personal accomplishment in Hamburg and most recently his win in Antwerp to gain his 2nd ATP title of the year and of his career, Ugo Humbert is wrapping up the year 2020 as cleanly as he started it. Without a doubt, Humbert will be a player you would want to keep your eyes on come 2021, as we are sure to see more of his brilliance on the court as he continues to make his mark on the ATP Tour.

Home/ATP