Japan Open: Humbert beats Machac to reach final

Ugo Humbert booked his place in the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships final in Tokyo on Monday by effectively stopping Tomas Machac’s momentum throughout the middle of the match.

The Frenchman prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, stepping up his game after a challenging second set In the ATP 500 hard-court semifinal match, while in the third set, Humbert gave his strongest game of the match and went on to win four games in a row, advancing to his third ATP Tour final of the year in Marseille, Dubai.

“It feels good. It was not my best match this week, but I still have the win so I’m very proud of that,” said Humbert. “It was not easy. I had difficulties in the second set, but in the end, I found the solution and stayed calm. I’m into my seventh ATP Tour final, so I’m very happy.

“It was not easy, because he didn’t allow a lot of rhythm… At the end of the second set, I tried to speak to myself a little bit. After, the last four games were amazing.”

Humbert will play either Arthur Fils or sixth seed Holger Rune in the Tokyo final on Tuesday in an attempt to improve his perfect 6-0 record in tour-level finals.