Pierre-Hugues Herbert ended Stefanos Tsitsipas’ hopes of a third straight Open 13 Provence crown on Friday, when he defeated the Greek 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-2 in Marseille.
The unseeded Frenchman won 79 per cent of first-serve points (37/47) to claim his first Top 5 win (1-6) and reach his first semi-final since June 2019 (Halle). Herbert improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Tsitsipas, following his 2018 win against the 6’4” right-hander in Shenzhen.
“I didn’t know this was the first Top 5 [player] that I beat,” Herbert said in an on-court interview. “It has been an incredible week for me so far, especially [with] this match. I knew I was going to have to play an amazing match to have a chance to win and I managed to do that. I am really happy about the way I played. I am so happy to be in the semi-finals here.”
Tsitsipas entered the match on a nine-match winning streak in Marseille, which included title runs at the ATP 250 in 2019 and 2020. The World No. 5 was attempting to reach his third semi-final of the year, after runs to the final four at the Australian Open and the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.
“I didn’t deserve to win today,” said Tsitsipas. “He showed a great quality out on the court to persevere and win that match. [The win was] very well earned. Too bad for me.”
Tsitsipas began the quarter-final on an 18-set winning streak in Marseille and that run was almost ended in the first set. After failing to serve out the opener at 5-4, Tsitsipas needed his best tennis to claim the first set in a tie-break. The Greek played with aggression on his forehand and rushed the net from 4/5 to claim four of the next five points and the set.
Herbert was able to end Tsitsipas’ set streak in the second set. The Frenchman attacked Tsitsipas’ forehand with consistent depth to claim the only break of the set at 4-4 and he fired four unreturned serves to hold to love and force a decider. The Frenchman continued to attack Tsitsipas’ forehand and utilised his net skills to earn three service breaks in the deciding set. Herbert closed the match with a powerful serve out wide and an overhead winner.
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“Against Stefanos, from the baseline, he is much better. I had to do something,” said Herbert. “I had to come to the net. I had to be aggressive and not let him manage the point with his forehand. He has one of the best forehands of all time, so I had to play offensive and it worked. I had my plan and I played it really perfectly. I am really happy about the win.”
Herbert’s win guaranteed a French finalist in Marseille. The 29-year-old will face Ugo Humbert for a place in the final. Humbert saved a match point to defeat ATP Tour debutant Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).
“There is going to be a French [player] in the final,” said Herbert. “I am happy about that and I hope it is going to be me.”
Humbert needed to break serve and save a match point at 6-5 in the third set to force a final-set tie-break. One point from defeat, the fourth seed fired a deep backhand return and charged the net behind a strong forehand approach. Humbert played a deft forehand drop volley and he eventually earned a match point of his own in the tie-break. The two-time ATP Tour titlist took his opportunity, when he closed the match with a powerful cross-court forehand approach.
“It was very tough today. [I had] a tough opponent,” Humbert said in an on-court interview. “He served very well. It was very hard to see where [he wanted] to serve. It was very close. I was aggressive in the key moments and I am very proud of myself today.”