Ugo Humbert believes he belongs on court with big stars
Ugo Humbert has credited self-belief with powering his perfect record in ATP Tour finals.
At the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday, Humbert kept his spotless record in the ATP Tour finals.
He won the championship after defeating Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-3.
After winning his second ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, the Frenchman now has a 6-0 record in title matches at the tour level.
“I played a fantastic level during the whole week. Today was not easy… I really don’t know, but I have a good statistic,” Humbert said when asked about his championship match record.
“I have a really good team around me.”
During his first-ever matchup with Bublik, Humbert used an aggressive style of play to exert control from the baseline.
The 25-year-old crushed his forehand to push Bublik deep.
After one hour and twenty-seven minutes, Humbert won the match after holding off a break point with a backhand winner while serving for the match. For the season, he is 13-3.
“He is not easy to play against. He had some opportunities to break me, but I was really calm and knew exactly what I had to do,” Humbert added.
Humbert beat Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals and was asked about his great record against top-five players.
Humbert believes that his confidence and vision helps him face top stars.
“No, because I think when I was a kid, I dream a lot to play these kind of matches on the stadium against the best players in the world,” Humbert said.
“Yeah, when I go on court, I say to myself, Okay, you can win, you can win. That’s why I think I’m really good against them.”
Humbert is delighted to have come back from injury to notch was has been his joint-biggest title to date.
“Yeah, this period was not easy to live for me,” Humbert said of his injury struggles.
“Now it’s behind me. Yeah, I’m more solid now. I have a great team around me.
“Yeah, the next step is to play good on this tournament, the Masters 1000 and Grand Slam,” Humbert added of his hopes for this season.
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On Monday, Humbert will climb to a career-high No 14 in the ATP Rankings. He is the first Frenchman to appear in the Top 15 since Gael Monfils in May 2021.
Humbert won the trophy in his native Marseille earlier in the season. The fifth seed, who was making his Dubai debut, is the third French champion in the history of the competition, after Fabrice Santoro in 2002 and Jerome Golmard back in 1999.
Bublik, who had won in Montpellier in February, was also going for his second tour-level title of the year. On Monday, the 26-year-old will make his Top 20 debut at No 19.
