By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday February 9, 2024
Ugo Humbert reached his third semifinal at Marseille. His next challenge is a daunting one.
Photo Source: ©Corinne Dubreuil / Open 13
Top seed Hubert Hurkacz may be the defending champion in Marseille, but it is fourth-seeded Ugo Humbert that is getting the lion’s share of fan fervor at the Open 13 Provence.
And deservedly so. The 25-year-old World No.21 has reached the semifinals on all three of his appearances and he stretched his indoor winning streak to six with an impressive 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday to set a final four clash with Hurkacz.
Humbert, now 7-2 lifetime at Marseille, will need the crowd support on Saturday if he is to take down Hurkacz. The Pole dropped just three first-serve points as he waltzed past Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-4 on Friday.
By doing so Hurkacz became the first ATP player to hit ten wins in 2024.
"I was definitely serving well today and that helped me out," Hurkacz said after his decisive victory.
Hurkacz’s only loss in 2024 came at the hands of Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling five-set quarterfinal at the Australian Open.
Hurkacz leads the head-to-head with Humbert 3-0, which includes Hurkacz’s 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory in the round of 16 at the Australian Open.
“His serve is very hard to read,” Hurkacz said. “I have to try to keep my game and be solid.”
In the lower half of the draw, 2018 Marseille champion Karen Kachanov blasted past China’s Zhang Zhizhen to reach his 20th tour-level semifinal. The Russian World No.18 will facr Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 7-6(3) in the semis.