Home favourite Ugo Humbert produced a five-star display in defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-3 to lift the Open 13 title in Marseille on Sunday.
Humbert powered to a superb victory with a near-flawless performance to become the seventh Frenchman to lift the title at the indoor ATP 250 event.
“I’m very strong mentally in finals,” said 25-year-old Humbert in his on-court interview. “It was a great match against Grigor, he’s one of the best players at the moment, so it was not easy. It’s so nice to win at home again.
“It’s here where everything began, because I reached my first semi-final on Tour [here]. It’s really nice to win Marseille, it’s a good feeling.”
The Frenchman was relentlessness from the back of the court and a lone break in the 10th game of the first set was enough to hand Humbert the set.
After saving two break point chances in the opening game of the second set, Humbert raced to a 3-0 lead and he didn’t look back to seal an 84-minute victory.
“Everything is there. I am pretty solid from the baseline, I serve very well and I am strong mentally,” said Humbert, who has now won his past eight matches indoors after also lifting a trophy on home soil in Metz last November. “Everything is here and I put everything on court.”
Humbert, who had lost to Dimitrov in both of the pair’s previous meetings, will rise to a new career-high of No 18 in the ATP rankings on Monday.
How to watch play on Sky Sports Tennis
Sky Sports has confirmed a new home for tennis in the UK and Ireland, with Sky Sports Tennis on Sky and NOW, making tennis content available all day, every day for fans.
Sky Sports will broadcast more live tennis than anywhere else, bringing over 4,000 matches from more than 80 tournaments a year on the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as full coverage of the US Open, all exclusively live.
Non-Sky subscribers can stream live matches with a NOW Sports Day and Month Membership, via Sky Sports Tennis, Sky Sports Arena, and Sky Sports Mix channels.
For further access, fans will also be able to follow their favourite players and gain deeper insights from both Tours via Sky Sports News, the Sky Sports app, on SkySports.com and via Sky Sports social channels.
Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!
Watch the WTA and ATP Tours throughout 2024 on Sky Sports Tennis. Stream tennis and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership