Berrettini Stuns Home Favourite Humbert to Reach Paris Last 16 and Set Up Alcaraz Clash

Matteo Berrettini kept his best run at the Paris Masters alive on Wednesday, beating home favourite Ugo Humbert 7-6 (3), 7-5 on Court 1 to reach the last 16. The Italian, ranked 43rd in the world, had never won a match at this tournament before this week, and he made it two in a row after edging past Brandon Nakashima in three sets in the opening round. Against Humbert, ranked 38th, he held his nerve in a tight first set, where two double faults from the Frenchman proved costly in the tie-break. The second set looked to be slipping away when Humbert, the 2024 runner-up in Paris, surged to a 4-1 lead. But Berrettini steadied himself, broke back, and closed out the match in one hour and 46 minutes as Humbert's late rally faded at 5-4. It is already the best result of Berrettini's career at the season's final Masters 1000 event, and the reward is a daunting one: a third-round meeting with second seed Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday. Alcaraz advanced earlier on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Alex Michelsen, and he will start as a clear favourite. But Berrettini's serve has carried him through two tough matches in Paris, and on an indoor hard court his power game gives him a genuine chance to test the Spaniard.