Humbert eliminated by Zverev in the last 16 of the Australian Open

The challenge for Ugo Humbert was immense. Seeded number 14 in Melbourne, the Frenchman had the tough task of facing Alexander Zverev, world number 2, for a place in the quarter-finals.

But after Gaël Monfils' exploit against Taylor Fritz the day before, the French clan is starting to believe in a second major performance from one of its representatives in this first Grand Slam of the season.

An outgoing semi-finalist, the German was very solid in his first three rounds. He won in three sets against Lucas Pouille, Pedro Martinez and Jacob Fearnley.

This time, it's Humbert who stands in his way, in a rematch of the final at the last Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy.

Impressive in the first set, Zverev took advantage of Humbert's poor start to win the first set easily, but the Frenchman reacted well to win the second.

This was the first time Zverev had conceded a set in this tournament. But in the end, the German, twice a Grand Slam finalist, was the more solid player.

A decisive break at 4 games to 3 in the third set, and Zverev accelerated to regain the lead.

The fourth set was then a mere formality, and Alexander Zverev prevailed despite a slight dip (6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in 2h16).

Author of 43 winners (including 19 aces) and 6 breaks, Zverev showed his superiority and qualifies for the quarter-finals where he will meet Tommy Paul.

The American was the first player to reach the quarter-finals, making short work of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (6-1, 6-1, 6-1) earlier in the day.