World number two Carlos Alcaraz conceded on Thursday that he “was not up to the level” of France’s 18th-ranked Ugo Humbert, who stunned the Spanish superstar in the third round of the Paris Masters. Humbert, who had previously lost to Alcaraz twice in 2024, defeated him 6-1, 3-6, 7-5. Alcaraz had a difficult evening, falling behind 0-5 in the first set before breaking through.
“It was an incredibly tough match. I began with some reservations about my game. It was difficult to get into the match against a player who attacks whenever he can and hits forcefully at every opportunity,” Alcaraz said.
“I wasn’t on his level. Ugo had an outstanding performance. The way he smacks the ball is unbelievable.” Humbert, who will have two crowns in 2024 from Marseille and Dubai, said he was “super proud of me”.
“It was a crazy match, a crazy atmosphere.” Alcaraz, 21, has had a tumultuous second half of the season following his painful loss to Novak Djokovic in the Paris Olympics final. He was knocked out of the US Open in the second round by 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, then upset top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the Beijing final before falling to Tomas Machac, the world number 33, in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals.
Humbert will then face Jordan Thompson of Australia for a spot in the Paris Masters semifinals. On Thursday, the French number one narrowly defeated Alcaraz 28 to 23, despite both players making 38 unforced errors. Thompson, ranked 28, reached the quarterfinals of a Masters for the first time, defeating Adrian Mannarino of France 7-5, 7-6 (7/5).
Meanwhile, Alex de Minaur’s ambition to become the first Australian to reach the ATP Tour Finals since Lleyton Hewitt 20 years ago received a boost when the ninth seed overcame in-form British player Jack Draper 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
The victory propelled De Minaur to the eighth and final qualifying slot for the Turin end-of-season event. “I’m going to put my body on the line, do my utmost, and prove to my opponent that I can do it all day. I needed to bring that intensity because Jack is such a confident opponent right now,” De Minaur said. He will face Holger Rune of Denmark, the 13th seed, who defeated French lucky loser Arthur Cazaux 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas said he felt like a “bull” after he came back from a set down to defeat Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in three sets: 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 6-2. “Starting the second set, I felt really a bull,” said 26-year-old Tsitsipas, who may need a run to the Paris
The 11th-ranked Greek will face world number three Alexander Zverev, who overcame Arthur Fils of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to go to the semi-finals.
Zverev served 16 aces and saved three break points in the tiebreaker, which was tied 5-3.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov, the 2018 Paris champion, defeated Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, and will face either Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov or France’s Arthur Rinderknech.