It will be an all-French affair when Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils collide for the third time in their careers during first-round action at the Libema Open on Wednesday afternoon. Both of their previous encounters have gone Humbert’s way; 6-2, 6-4 on the red clay of the Bordeaux Challenger last spring and 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 a few months later on the hard courts of Cincinnati.
All signs point to Humbert completing the surface sweep of his compatriot. Fils did well to defeat fellow Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4 in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch opening round, but he has played only seven grass-court matches in his career. Although Fils has climbed to 38th in the rankings at just 19 years old, he owns a modest 14-14 record for his 2024 campaign.
A move from clay to grass should be just what the doctor ordered for Humbert. The world No. 16 was on fire on hard courts–both indoors and outdoors–last fall and early this season before predictably cooling off on clay. He is a solid 22-17 lifetime on grass with a 500-point title in Halle three years ago.
Having a match already under his belt this week could help Fils, but nonetheless he can’t feel good about his chances against Humbert on anything other than clay at the moment.
Pick: Humbert in 2
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Ugo in 3