HALLE/STARNBERG, June 17, 2021

Fewer than two seeds have reached the quarterfinals of the NOVENTI Open in Halle, Westphalia, Germany for the first time in the tournament’s 27-year history after Frenchman Ugo Humbert upset third favourite Alexander Zverev from Germany 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 at the OWL Arena on Thursday. No. 4 seed Andrey Rublev reached the stage of the last eight with a win on Wednesday.

Humbert struck 10 aces and outpointed his rival 88-85 after one hour and 51 minutes.

Humbert-lievable 🤯@HumbertUgo defeats 3rd seed Zverev 7-6 3-6 6-3 to progress to the quarter-finals in Halle#NoventiOpen pic.twitter.com/EJP0RlIjJS

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 17, 2021

“It was definitely one of my best matches ever on grass. I played with the necessary self-confidence and good nerves,” state the 22-year-old Metz native, who said he was pleased with his performance.

“I don’t particularly know what I could have done differently, to be honest,” Zverev said. “Ugo was serving incredibly well in the first set, we both barely won points on each other’s serve. Then in the third set, I think he found his rhythm from the baseline. He was outplaying me. It is not a great result for me, but I don’t know what I could have done differently.”

Humbert will next take on #NextGenATP US-American Sebastian Korda, who edged out Kei Nishikori from Japan 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 after two hours and 40 minutes.

In other action, Lloyd Harris from South Africa beat Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko 6-3, 7-6(8) in one hour and 26 minutes and will next face Nikoloz Basilashvili. The 30-year-old from Georgia emerged victorious from the battle of the qualifiers with Arthur Rinderknech of France, winning 6-2, 7-5. The encounter lasted one hour and 20 minutes.

Your #NoventiOpen quarter-finals:

🇺🇸 Giron v Auger-Aliassime 🇨🇦
🇫🇷 Humbert v Korda 🇺🇸
🇩🇪 Kohlschreiber v Rublev 🇷🇺
🇿🇦 Harris v Basilashvili 🇬🇪

Pick your final four…

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 17, 2021