By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday January 18, 2020
Ugo Humbert defeated Benoit Paire in a third-set breaker to win his first ATP Title.
Photo Source: ASB
Ugo Humbert came through a tense battle with compatriot Benoit Paire to become the first Frenchman to win the ASB Classic in Auckland. The 21-year-old Frenchman notched a 7-6(2) 3-6 7-6(5) victory and will make his Top 50 debut when the new rankings are released next week.
“It was the tournament of revenge because I lost against four of the five players I played, so it’s a great improvement for me and I couldn’t dream a better beginning of the season,” Humbert said.
Humbert is the first of what promises to be more than a few first-time winners on the ATP Tour in 2020—last year there were 15 in total.
The Frenchman had a break lead in the third set but Paire broke back and then saved a championship point while serving to level at 5-all. In the third-set tiebreaker Paire saved another three championship points before Humbert locked up the title.