UGOAT

After a not-so-thrilling final in Stockholm, Humbert is pulling out all the stops this week!

Ugo just cooled off Korda and then Fritz back-to-back, basically making them sick of tennis. When Ugo plays with that much aggression and confidence, matches are almost entirely on his racket—he can break with laser returns and put on insane pressure. That was already the case against Korda, and he raised his level again versus Fritz. I saw prime Ugo indoors there! Two great wins for the Frenchman, who can aim for a deep run in this tournament. He’s opened up the draw for himself, but he’ll have to handle a tricky quarterfinal. He’s facing a third straight American, and this one’s annoying stylistically. Opelka is like Mpetshi indoors: they’re almost unbreakable, and the game gets so choppy it barely looks like tennis. I don’t think that bothers Ugo, though—he’s strong in short patterns, and his aggressiveness actually helps him stay in rhythm without nodding off. Now, breaking Opelka—that’s the tough part. The American’s second serve is heavy with a ton of spin, which makes it hard to attack, but Ugo’s got real returning quality when he gets his eye in, so maybe he’s got the answer. He does have a good record against big servers. One small factor: Opelka moves to Center Court after three matches on Court 1, which is faster with less room at the back. It’s not huge, but if I had to choose, I’d prefer they play on Center for Ugo. With his recent uptick in form and Paris next week, he’s clearly building momentum.