Russia’s Karen Khachanov is in red-hot form at the moment! He recently won the title at the Almaty Open, then made it to the final in Vienna and now, he has also reached the SF of the Paris Masters. Speaking about this epic run, he said, “When you are feeling the rhythm, feeling the momentum you just want to continue enjoying the moment and continue playing the same way, with just a slight change of tactics for a different opponent.” Next up for him in the semis is the home favorite, Ugo Humbert! The Frenchman has won his past 12 matches on French indoor hard courts and he’s now also the first Frenchman to reach the SF in Paris since 2017. Who’ll win this epic battle?

Ugo Humbert vs Karen Khachanov: Preview

Ugo Humbert has won two titles this season. The first one came at the Open 13 and the next one came at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Humbert reached the final of the Japan Open in October, but he was defeated by his compatriot Arthur Fils in that match. Over here in Paris Masters, he has looked quite impressive so far. He defeated two Americans, Brandon Nakashima and Marcos Giron in the first two matches. Then Ugo Humbert literally put a shockwave around the tennis world with his win against Carlos Alcaraz in the R16. In the QF, he beat Australia’s Jordan Thompson by 6-2,7-6(4).

Karen Khachanov has also won two titles this season. His first title triumph came at the Qatar Open and then the next one came at the Almaty Open where he defeated Canada’s Gabriel Diallo by 6-2,5-7,6-3. In Paris, he defeated Australia’s Christopher O’Connell by three sets in his first match, and then in the second match he beat the French superstar, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard by 6(12)-7,6-1,6-4. Then in the R16, he sealed a victory against another Aussie, Alexei Popyrin before showcasing his heroics against the Bulgarian star, Grigor Dimitrov in the QF. He defeated Dimitrov by 6-2,6-3 in the QF match!

Humbert vs Khachanov: Head-to-Head

Ugo Humbert has faced Karen Khachanov only once in his career so far. The 28-year-old Russian emerged victorious in their only contest against each other, but it was a tight one. 

• 2021 Tokyo Olympics QF: Khachanov 7-6(4),4-6,6-3.

Prediction: Humbert to win this match in three sets

This match is surely going to go deep! Looking at the form that both these players are currently in, we can expect some fireworks in this match. However, with the support from the home crowd, we’re expecting Ugo Humbert should have an edge in this contest over Karen Khachanov. Apart from that, if we look at numbers, Humbert is currently ranked 18th in the world and he has a win-loss index of 37-24 this season. On the other hand, Khachanov (21) has a win-loss index of 37-22. So, even here, the margins are pretty close!

Now, shifting our focus to their playing styles, Karen Khachanov’s playing style is mainly based on the first stroke off both serve and the return. That’s the way he loves to play! He likes hitting hard and venomous forehand shots which is more than capable of causing a few troubles for his opponents. Apart from that his incredible height also helps him hit down on the ball whenever he gets an opportunity to go for a flat-point ender. Khachanov’s favorite shot is his serv and he has already hit around 375 aces in this season. However, his biggest weakness is his backhand.

Talking about the Frenchman, Ugo Humbert is more like an offensive player who likes to hit volleys. He gives little time and space to his opponents to settle.  His favorite shot is his backhand and his preferred surface is the hard court. Apart from that, Humber also has a lethal serve in his armory which can cause some trouble for the Russian in this match. Ugo Humbert is often seen coming to the net to finish off the points against his opponents. Will he take a similar approach against Khachanov or are we going to see something different? Time will tell! Karen Khachanov won this tournament in 2018, however, playing against a Frenchman in front of the Parisian crowd is a different thing! So, we’re keeping Ugo Humbert slightly ahead in this match.