Shapovalov eliminates Humbert in the first round of Halle

Humbert faced Shapovalov in the first round of the Halle tournament. The two men had crossed paths five times on the circuit but never on grass. Until then, the Canadian led in their head-to-head matchups (3-2).

The first set was complicated for the Frenchman, who failed to create any favorable situations on his opponent's serve (0 break points). Shapovalov, on the other hand, converted just one of his five break points to take the advantage in this match.

The trend reversed in the next set with Humbert being more effective on serve, winning 76% of points on his first serve, including 5 aces, as well as more accuracy on returns (58% of points won). He tied the match at one set apiece.

Subsequently, both players battled until the tie-break. Although the tournament's No. 6 seed led in this decisive game, Shapovalov ultimately won the duel of the day (7-4) and claimed his first grass-court victory of the season (6-4, 4-6, 7-6) in 2 hours and 28 minutes.

In the next round, he will face Cobolli, who defeated Fonseca after a great battle.