Ugo Humbert, 112th player in the world, offered himself the finalist of the last Roland-Garros, the Norwegian Casper Ruud (6th in the world), 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, Wednesday, becoming the first French qualified for the 3rd round at Wimbledon.
Humbert will face for a place in the round of 16 the Belgian David Goffin (58th) who easily defeated the Argentinian Sebastian Baez 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Faced with a player who was uncomfortable on the grass, the French left-hander was able to tighten the game after a difficult first set, marked by numerous unforced errors, to clinch this prestigious victory.
“I’m very happy, it was a great match after losing the first set,” said the player who lost in the first round in London last year, after a Homeric battle against Australian Nick Kyrgios, in 5 sleeves.
The ignition delay can be explained by the rain which delayed the start of the matches by almost two hours.
“It was difficult not being able to play this morning, but it was the same for everyone. I did my best, I improved (as the match progressed) and I’m happy with my level of play, he said.
In particular, he was able to count on a very good two-handed backhand which wreaked havoc when he was crossed and a great success at the net, like the 12 points out of 17 mounted in the second set.
Djokovic without shaking
He also knew how to stay mentally strong, as when he was trailing 3-0 at the start of the third, before resuming the opposing service and making the decisive break at 5-5.
In the last set, he was patient before seizing, at 4-4, the commitment of Ruud who seemed more and more powerless over the games, to end on a shutout.
Novak Djokovic, three-time defending champion, made short work of Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (79th) whom he beat 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday in the second round of Wimbledon.
The world N.3, in search of a seventh title on the lawn of London, will face in the next round the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (78th) or the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (30th).
After losing a set in the first round against the South Korean Soon-woo Kwon (81st in the world) for his start, the Serb flew over this second match in 2 hours without ever conceding a break point.
At 35, Djokovic hopes to win his 4th Wimbledon in a row to return to a length of the record of 22 Grand Slam titles held by Rafael Nadal.
Caroline Garcia, 55th in the world, beat Briton Emma Raducanu, 11th and winner of the last US Open, 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday in the second round of Wimbledon.
The 28-year-old Frenchwoman, who won the 8th title of her career last week in Bad Homburg, thus won a seventh victory in a row, which had not happened to her since the 2019 grass season. In the next round, she will face the Chinese Shuai Zhang (41st).
It’s already over for Halys
Despite strong resistance, Frenchman Quentin Halys was knocked out in the second round of the Wimbledon grass tournament by the No.22 seed, Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, 7-6 (9-7), 0-6, 7- 5, 7-6 (7-5).
Despite 23 aces and 3 breaks made – all in the second set – against only one for his opponent, Halys, who had released Benoît Paire in the previous round, negotiated the important points less well.
While often pushing the Georgian to his last entrenchments, he did not create any set point during the almost 2h30 that the match lasted. What give him regrets and remind him of his defeat in the first round of Roland-Garros in four sets, including three lost in the tie-break, against the American John Isner.