Ugo Humbert defeats Tomas Machac in Tokyo | ATP Tour

Tokyo

Humbert accelerates past Machac for Tokyo final berth

Frenchman will play Rune or Fils in bid for seventh ATP Tour title

September 30, 2024

Ugo Humbert successfully halted Tomas Machac’s mid-match momentum on Monday to book his spot in the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships final in Tokyo.

The Frenchman raised his level after a tough second set to seal a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 semi-final triumph at the hard-court ATP 500. Humbert produced his best tennis of the match to reel off four straight games from 2-2 in the third set to advance to his third ATP Tour final of the season (Marseille, Dubai).

🇫🇷 ALLEZ LES BLEUS 🇫🇷@HumbertUgo overcomes Tomas Machac 6-3 3-6 6-2 to reach his 7th tour-level final.@japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/G1B7brvnRd

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 30, 2024

“It feels good. It was not my best match this week, but I still have the win so I’m very proud of that,” said Humbert. “It was not easy. I had difficulties in the second set, but in the end, I found the solution and stayed calm. I’m into my seventh ATP Tour final, so I’m very happy.

“It was not easy, because he didn’t allow a lot of rhythm… At the end of the second set, I tried to speak to myself a little bit. After, the last four games were amazing.”

Humbert will seek to improve his perfect 6-0 record in tour-level finals when he takes on sixth seed Holger Rune or #NextGenATP Arthur Fils in Tuesday’s final in Tokyo. The Frenchman, who has risen four spots to No. 15 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his run in Japan so far, is chasing his third ATP 500 crown after his victories in Halle in 2021 and Dubai earlier this year.