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Stefanos Tsitsipas played his best tennis on Tuesday night except on the points that mattered most. Granted, drawing Ugo Humbert in the second round—two weeks removed from a crushing Olympics defeat—is not an enjoyable scenario. But time after time, the Greek fell short on break point, finally securing his first break in the first set on his seventh attempt—thanks to a much needed double fault from the Frenchman.

After finding himself down 3-6, 3-5 in the second set, Ugo Humbert finally found the level of tennis he displayed during his 8-1 finish to 2020, where he captured the Antwerp title before reaching the Paris Masters quarterfinal.

Finally past his dismal 7-12 start to the season, Humbert has been steadily increasing his form and confidence, and he may have reached a peak in his 15-13 win in the second-set tiebreak. The world No. 27 saved five match points with an utterly brilliant shotmaking display.

After the crushing second-set loss, Tsitsipas came out on fire, capturing the third set 6-1. The Greek displayed incredible range on his return, limiting Humbert to just two aces throughout the two and a half hour match, while firing 16 of his own.

Despite the newly minted world No. 3’s trouble on break and match points, it was an inspiring performance from both competitors. With Djokovic and Nadal’s withdrawal, Tsitsipas is looking like a solid favorite to win the tournament, and will take on the winner of Karen Khachanov and Aslan Karatsev on Thursday.