Carlos Alcaraz was shocked in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday.
French No. 1 Ugo Humbert held strong to take out the second seed 6-1 3-6 7-5 in a thrilling three-setter on Halloween night.
It comes just one day after Humbert slammed tournament organisers for relegating him to the secondary court, claiming he “deserved” prime billing.
Alcaraz has never had the best track record in Bercy. He went two years without winning a match at the final Masters 1000 of the season. But he came back with a vengeance in 2024 and eased past Nicolas Jarry on Tuesday.
Humbert posed a whole new challenge in the round of 16. The top-ranked Frenchman had the full support of the Accor Arena crowd when they stepped out to headline the night session on Thursday.
And he used it to his advantage, leaving Alcaraz looking helpless as he raced into a 5-0, double-break lead. The world No. 18 needed just 27 minutes to take the opener 6-1.
The match seemed to be running away from the four-time Major winner when he trailed 0-30 in the first game of the second set. But he held on and roared in delight, trying to pump himself up.
Alcaraz raised his level, putting the home hero under pressure as Humbert was forced to save three break points. But the world No. 2 continued to press and was finally rewarded with his first break.
He took the second 6-3, forcing a decider before Humbert left the court to change his clothes. Alcaraz took the opportunity to speak with his team during the break and had fun with the crowd, laughing at some of the fans’ Halloween costumes on the screen.
But he was back to business when play resumed and started to dazzle the crowd with some exceptional points, momentarily getting the Parisians on his side as he touched his ear to spur them on.
Humbert survived a tight, seven-minute game to lead 3-2. They went deep into the decider without a single break point arising. But it was Alcaraz’s turn to face some trouble while serving to stay in it at 5-6.
The crowd were chanting Ugo before the game even started. And they went crazy when Alcaraz hit a double fault to trail 0-30 as the umpire was forced to intervene, telling them they were “affecting both players”.
Humbert could sense the finish line was near. And he suddenly had two match points. Alcaraz saved the first with a big serve but he sent the ball long on the second and the arena erupted.
The world No. 18 roared and launched his hat into the air in celebration before hugging Alcaraz at the net. It comes after the French No. 1 went on a frustrated rant after his second-round match was scheduled on Court 1 while some of his lower-ranked compatriots got Court Central billing on Wednesday.
“I was disappointed, because I think I deserved better. I’m No. 1 French player, and I have practiced on the centre court,” he said after beating Marcos Giron.
“It’s my favourite tournament. I was disappointed that I was not on the centre court. But I have deserved to play for the third round.
“I’m someone who is very nice. But, you know, sometimes it is used against me. I’m delighted to have won this match, to have deserved playing on the centre court against Alcaraz.”
And he proved his worth on Thursday night, dumping out the highest-ranked player left in the draw to book his spot in his second Paris Masters quarter-final.
