France’s Ugo Humbert upset fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in third-round action Monday at the Shanghai Masters in China.
Humbert, the No. 32 seed, matched his personal best for wins in a season (24 in 2020) and reached the final 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the third time (two in 2020).
“I’m so happy. It’s a big win against Tsitsipas, a Top 10 player,” Humbert said after the 2-hour, 9-minute match that finished after midnight local time. “… I feel a lot of confidence on the court and I’m very proud that I won this match.
“I’m just enjoying playing tennis. It’s a big passion for me. It’s all the work during all the year. Since Davis Cup I’ve played really great tennis and I’m very happy to play like this.”
Humbert saved six of eight break points and finished with 34 winners and nine unforced errors. Tsitsipas overcame a 3-0 deficit in the final set, but Humbert broke his serve in the last game to win the match.
Humbert advanced to face J.J. Wolf, a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) winner against Matteo Arnaldi of Italy.
Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain held off Britain’s Daniel Evans 7-6 (1), 6-4 to reach the fourth round, improving to 41-1 this year against players ranked outside of the Top 20.
Evans, the No. 30 seed, saved 12 of 15 break points but only recorded about half as many winners (17) as Alcaraz (32).
“It was a really tough match. It was one of the toughest matches I have played outside of the Grand Slams,” Alcaraz said after the 2-hour, 25-minute battle. “Every time I play Daniel it is a tricky match and I have to play my best to beat him. … Both of us played a high quality of tennis and I am really happy to get through.”
Up next for Alcaraz is No. 18 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who eliminated No. 13 Karen Khachanov of Russia 7-6 (6), 6-4.
No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia breezed to a 6-3, 6-0 win over No. 31 Adrian Mannarino of France. Wild-card entry Diego Schwartzman of Argentina knocked out No. 7 Taylor Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5). No. 12 Tommy Paul outlasted Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-4 and No. 22 Nicolas Jarry of Chile defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (4), 6-2.
–Field Level Media
