TennisSection previews the 2021 Marseille Open as Ugo Humbert (4) meets Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the Semi-Finals on Saturday March 13th, 2021.
This is shaping up to be a thrilling “All-French” Semi-Final here at the 2021 Marseille Open. Can Pierre-Hugues Herbert pull off another stunning upset after defeating Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Quarter-Finals? Or will it be his flashy compatriot Ugo Humbert to get the win and advance to his first ATP Final of the year?
Ugo Humbert is currently ranked a career-high #30 in the world rankings and is seeded #4 here at the 2021 Marseille Open. A very flashy lefty, he has had a difficult start to the season and will be delighted to be in the Semi-Finals. He will be hoping that this is the tournament that will turn his season around as he continues his charge towards the top 20. The young Frenchman can consider himself lucky to be here after surviving a huge scare against Qualifier Arthur Rinderknech in the Quarter-Final. Rinderknech won the first set and actually served for the match before Humbert pulled off the Houdini act to recover and win in three. He has a big serve and powerful groundstrokes, and will be relying on those weapons against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Despite his struggles in the previous round, he enters this match as the favorite.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert is ranked #93 and is a far cry from his career high of #36. An outstanding doubles player who has won the career Grand Slam, he started focusing on singles a few years ago and had some success, reaching three ATP Finals. The Frenchman has struggled with loss of form over the past few years and has started the 2021 season poorly, winning only one main draw match on the ATP Tour. He has found form here at the 2021 Marseille Open however, defeating second seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in a stunning upset. Herbert played the match of his life, serving extremely well and certainly not looking like a player ranked near 100. He enters the match against Ugo Humbert as the underdog, however definitely cannot be counted out after his huge win over Tsitsipas. His confidence is sky high and he will certainly bring his A game in the Semis.
This is going to be the third meeting between Ugo Humbert and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, with Ugo Humbert leading the head to head 2-0. While Ugo Humbert is ranked much higher than Pierre-Hugues Herbert, their current form is very different. Humbert struggled in the Quarter-Finals while Herbert played his best match in some time, so they have varying levels of confidence. Both players will be heavily reliant on their serves on these courts and whoever can stay focused and limit their unforced errors will likely win the match. Herbert is very adept at attacking the net due to his doubles prowess and will need to use that tactic here to unsettle his younger opponent. I expect a lot of easy service games for both players but I don’t think that Herbert has the game to keep up with Humbert from the baseline. I am predicting a very close match, but Ugo Humbert’s power should see him through to the Final here. Ugo Humbert to win.
Free Tennis Preview and Prediction: Ugo Humbert to win
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