ATP 250 Adelaide: Humbert Edges Davidovich Fokina in Thriller to Reach Final

Ugo Humbert Survives Nail-Biting Tie-Break to Beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Advances to Adelaide Final

© AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 16/01/2026 à 11h26

2 min to read

Adélaïde Davidovich Fokina Humbert Ugo Machac Tomas Paul Tommy

The second semifinal of the ATP 250 tournament in Adelaide was on the schedule this Friday late morning. Top seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina faced Ugo Humbert.

The Spaniard, who led 3-1 in head-to-head meetings with his opponent before today's match, had eliminated Rinky Hijikata and Valentin Vacherot in straight sets.

On his side, the Frenchman, who lost his opener to Cameron Norrie in Brisbane last week, regained confidence by dominating Térence Atmane, Tallon Griekspoor, and Alexander Shevchenko without dropping a set.

His biggest test of the week, however, was against Davidovich Fokina. The match was indeed closely contested and lived up to expectations between these two top 40 players.

Humbert Joins Machac in Adelaide Tournament Final

The first set was tight, but the Metz native broke serve midway through to take the lead. Very solid on his serves, the Frenchman conceded only one break point throughout the entire match.

Unfortunately for him, the Spaniard managed to convert it at 6-5 in the second set. Davidovich Fokina thus leveled the score, but Humbert did not falter.

After a decisive set in which neither player found the key on return, the two men were separated by a tie-break. Humbert ultimately prevailed after a suspenseful finish (6-3, 5-7, 7-6 in 2h32) and reaches the 11th final of his career.

Frenchman Aims for 8th ATP Title at Adelaide Tournament

To lift an 8th trophy (which would be his first since Marseille last year), the 27-year-old player will have to overcome Tomas Machac (Humbert leads 1-0 in head-to-head meetings).

The Czech player earlier in the day came back to defeat Tommy Paul (2-6, 6-3, 6-3) and will aim for a second ATP title after the one he won in Acapulco last year against Davidovich Fokina.

On his side, the world No. 15, precisely, falls short again in his quest for a trophy, as he has yet to open his account on the main tour after five lost finals since 2022.