French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz fell short of the Paris Masters quarterfinals after a thrilling 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 loss to local favorite Ugo Humbert on Thursday.
The 18th-ranked Humbert stormed through the first set in just 26 minutes as Alcaraz struggled to find his rhythm. Spain’s world No. 2 fought back fiercely, rallying to a 5-2 lead before sealing the second set with a flawless hold.
Driven by the home crowd’s energy, Humbert found his edge in the decisive set, becoming the first Frenchman to defeat a top-five player at the Paris tournament since 2019, when his coach, Jeremy Chardy, stunned Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
"I have to congratulate Ugo. I think his performance has been really high. The way he hits the ball is unbelievable. It's amazing," Alcaraz said at a press conference.
The two-time Grand Slam winner added that the speed of the court was a surprise and a key factor in his performance, saying it had changed significantly from previous years.
"It is the fastest court in the Masters 1000 series, probably on the tour right now. Probably the fastest one in the last 10 years in this tournament. I played Davis Cup on an indoor court, and the court was way slower than this one," Alcaraz said.
Earlier, third-seeded Alexander Zverev defeated 20th-ranked Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 after recovering from a second-set wobble to set up a clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 10th-seeded Greek came back from a tight first set to oust Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2.
Ninth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia also came from behind to beat Britain’s Jack Draper 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
Compatriot Jordan Thompson reached the last eight with a 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. However, Australia’s Alexei Popyrin failed to join his countrymen as he fell to Karen Khachanov 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Unseeded Russian Khachanov will meet eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals after the Bulgarian survived a nail-biting third-set tiebreak against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech to secure a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (5) victory.
Holger Rune struggled against French lucky loser Arthur Cazaux, who replaced Jannik Sinner after the world No. 1 withdrew due to a virus. However, Danish 13th seed Rune recovered from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Rune next faces De Minaur, while Thompson meets Humbert.
