RENNES/STARNBERG, September 18, 2022
Ugo Humbert of France has clinched the title of the 16th edition of the Open Blot Rennes. The No. 4 seed of the €67,960 ATP Challenger Tour hard-court tournament defeated Austrian wild card entry Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-0 in Sunday’s singles final.
In front of packed stands inside Le Liberté Arena in Rennes, Humbert delighted his home crowd by showing an excellent performance. The World No. 139 struck seven aces and won 71 per cent of his first-service points to succeed in one hour and 15 minutes.
🏆JEU SET ET TOURNOI UGO HUMBERT🏆
6/3 – 6/0#OBR2022 pic.twitter.com/Hr6SSx0snP— Open Blot Rennes (@OpenBlotRennes) September 18, 2022
“I’m super happy, I was a big match.A final is never easy, I managed to raise my level of play today, and it was really a high level, a great atmosphere, a great week,” said Humbert.
“I couldn’t have hoped for better, I had been looking for this level for a long time. In the final, I managed to be good on the important points and to finish a week like that is very strong. I worked hard to get to this level of play, I couldn’t have hoped for better. Challengers are so tough, winning this week here in France is great.”
Humbert, a player feeling comfortable on faster surfaces and champion of three ATP Tour titles, captured his seventh Challenger career crown, his first since prevailing on home soil in Brest 2019. The 24-year-old Metz native pocketed €9,200 in prize money as well as 90 ATP Ranking points.
“I want to finish in the Top 100, that’s the goal. When I play at this level, I can hope for better things. The spectators were amazing. They pushed me, it gave me a lot of energy. Thanks a lot,” Humbert said.
Thiem takes positives away from this week in Rennes
Thiem, who was out from competition from June 2021 to March 2022 with a series of injuries, name a hampered right wrist, was seeking his first title since winning the US Open in September 2020. The World No. 216 earned €5,400 in prize money as well as 55 ATP Ranking points.
“The first set was not so bad, I had chances to come back. He played fantastic tennis and I made mistakes. At the start of the second I was not good, I wanted to stay in the match. Then it slipped away from me,” said Thiem.
“But it was a good week, for the first time in a long time, I had a series of victories. I have to look ahead. He played very fast. When I thought I had a chance to come back, he came back very well. He deserves to win today. I was not in my best shape after a week of playing, but I have to get used to it. This whole week it’s been a great tournament, in a great city. I played every match in front of 3,000 people, those are obviously good memories of a great tournament.”
