Daily Times

ANTWERP: France’s Ugo Humbert produced a masterful performance to beat Australian eighth seed Alex de Minaur 6-1 7-6(4) and win his second ATP Tour title at the European Open in Antwerp on Sunday. Having won his maiden title in Auckland in January, the 22-year-old Humbert impressed this week with a notable win over second seed Pablo Carreno Busta and was put to the test in the semi-final when he saved four match points against Dan Evans. Humbert did not drop serve against De Minaur, winning an impressive 80% of his second serve points while he also dictated rallies, with forehand winners down the line a constant feature in a dominant opening set. Humbert had the chance to break at 4-4 in the second set but De Minaur found his rhythm to take it to a tiebreak where the Frenchman converted his first match point with a drop volley. Humbert is the third Frenchman to claim the Antwerp title since the tournament began four years ago following Richard Gasquet (2016) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2017).