ATP Tour

Humbert, Bergs spoil home party to set Eastbourne final clash

Ugo Humbert and Zizou Bergs enjoyed contrasting victories against home favourites on Friday to book a championship-match showdown at the Lexus Eastbourne Open.

The sixth-seeded Humbert ended the comeback run of Jack Draper with a 7-5, 6-3 win at the grass-court ATP 250. Humbert celebrated his 28th birthday by delivering a classy all-around display to advance to his 12th ATP Tour final.

“It’s the best gift I could have today. Thanks so much for the birthday wishes,” Humbert said after the Eastbourne crowd sang ‘Happy birthday’ to him following his win. “It’s nice to see Jack back on court. The level was really impressive and I think I was a bit lucky in the second set. I had [four] break points to save… I’m super happy to be in the final.”

A seven-time ATP Tour champion, Humbert is chasing his second trophy on grass after his 2021 triumph in Halle. The No. 30 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is the first French men’s singles finalist in Eastbourne since Gael Monfils fell to Novak Djokovic in the 2017 title match.

Draper, who was competing this week for the first time since April due to a knee injury, will now head to Wimbledon with some much-needed time on the grass under his belt. The former World No. 4 faces a tough opener at the All England Club, where he will take on Taylor Fritz in the first round.

Bergs earlier fought his way to his third ATP Tour championship match with a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 triumph against another Briton, Toby Samuel. Lucky loser Samuel continued his impressive surge on the Eastbourne grass for the first half of the encounter and served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. Yet Bergs countered superbly and dominated the decider for a two-hour, seven-minute victory.

After arriving in Eastbourne on a six-match losing streak, Bergs has reached the final on the English south coast for the loss of just one set. The 27-year-old Belgian will now hope to claim his first tour-level trophy after falling short in his previous finals in Auckland and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, both in 2025, while he will also aim to make a statement in his Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry with Humbert: The pair has also been drawn to face each other in the opening round next week at Wimbledon.

Despite his semi-final defeat, Briton Samuel can reflect on a breakthrough showing on home soil. The 23-year-old, who was a college qualifier for the PIF ATP Next Gen Accelerator in 2023 and 2024 but had not won a tour-level match prior to this week, has risen 19 spots to No. 123 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Eastbourne run.