Humbert Survives Two Tie-Breaks to Win Paris Night-Session Thriller

Ugo Humbert made a winning return to the Rolex Paris Masters on Monday night, defeating Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-3 in a gripping first-round match lasting two hours and 38 minutes. The Frenchman, runner-up at the event in 2024, was playing in front of his home crowd at the season's final Masters 1000 event, which runs until November 8. The opening set went to a tie-break, which Humbert took 7-5, before the Dutchman hit back to level the match by winning the second-set tie-break 9-7. Rather than denting his confidence, losing that set seemed to sharpen Humbert, who took control of the decider and closed out the win 6-3 to the delight of the home crowd. The victory sends the home favourite through to the second round, where he will look to build on a run to the final two years ago. For van de Zandschulp, it was another early exit in Paris despite pushing the Frenchman all the way across nearly two hours and forty minutes of high-quality tennis. The Paris Masters is the last major counting event before the season-ending ATP Finals, making every win in the French capital valuable for players chasing a place among the year's best eight.