Ugo Humbert went the distance to capture his first career ATP title on Saturday, beating fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(5) at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
It capped off a brilliant run for Humbert, who also defeated Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals and two-time Auckland champion John Isner in the semis.
“It’s a tournament of revenge because I’ve lost to four of the five players I played this week,” the 21-year-old Frenchman noted. “It’s a great improvement for me and I couldn’t dream of a better beginning for the season.”
“I want to congratulate Ugo on winning his first title on tour, but not the last for sure,” Paire said. “I enjoyed this week a lot. Even this final was something special. I lost, but everything is fine…. Everyone was having fun and enjoying the match, so that’s the most important thing.”
There was nothing enjoyable for Lloyd Harris in his first ATP final–aside from the fact that he made a surprising run to get there. A red-hot Andrey Rublev made it two titles in the first two weeks of the season, erasing the South African qualifier 6-3, 6-0 triumph at the Adelaide International.
“This is what we are working for, to be more consistent, to be more mentally strong,” said Rublev, who also lifted the Doha trophy last weekend. “This is what we’re working for. And I’m happy that these two weeks went this way…. I got two titles. It’s amazing. I never had this before.”
The last time anyone began a season with two titles prior to the Australian Open was 2004, when Dominik Hrbaty won Adelaide and Auckland.
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congrats