Ugo Humbert overpowers Alexander Bublik for Dubai title

Alexander Bublik must be an interesting player to face. One can never be sure exactly what he will do on any given point. He might hit an underhand serve one minute and then blast a 130 MPH serve the next. He also does unorthodox things when he hits forehands as well. I say all of that to point out that while Bublik can be tricky, Ugo Humbert seemed to have all that figured out before the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Or maybe Humbert simply stayed within himself and hit crisp forehand after well-paced backhand and set all of that up with an overwhelming serve. Throughout the tournament, Bublik had only dropped serve four times. As opposed to Bublik in the final, he rarely got into trouble with his service game in a 6-4 6-3 victory.

Humbert could well be on his way to his best season on the ATP tour. His high for titles in any one year is two. The first time that happened was 2021. Now he has already won two in 2024 after previously winning the ATP 250 in Marseille. Humbert win in Dubai is also his second ATP 500 victory.

Ugo Humbert sweeps away Alexander Bublik in Dubai Championships

He also will reach a career-high in ranking once the new rankings are released on Monday. Humbert will get to No. 14 on the tour. The lefty doesn't just win with spin either. Bublik might actually want to take a cue from Humbert as well. The players have comparable talent and both are in their mid-20s with a wave of great young talent, such as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, behind them. They both have skills they need to hone.

Bublik still relies on deception too much instead of consistently hitting his very good forehand and powerful serve. Humbert has streamlined his approach by not taking too many risks and allowing his natural athletic ability to help him chase down balls to keep points alive and then finish points off with power.

Humbert should be a real danger to anyone he faces in the near future. He is playing just crisply enough to not defeat himself. Heck, he might even steal a Grand Slam before the year is over.

Read more from Lob and Smash