4th seed Ugo Humbert has enjoyed an excellent 18 months or so, reaching five finals since February last year (winning three of them).
2025 ATP Tour
Masters 1000
Bavarian International Tennis Championships (BMW Open)
MTTC Iphitos, Munich, Germany (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Round of 32 Matches- 15th April
Ugo Humbert (4) 0.66 vs Nicolas Jarry 1.18
The big-serving lefty reached the biggest final of his career towards the end of last season, finishing runner-up in front of adoring fans at the Paris Masters. He has already won a title this year, defending his Open 13 crown (again in front of his Gallic brethren). He has had his struggles since then, going 2-4 in his four subsequent tournaments. In fact, he comes into this match on a three-match losing streak, going down to Alexei Popyrin in three sets at last week’s Monte-Carlo Masters. That defeat took Humbert’s terrible ATP Tour clay-court record to 14-31. The big-serving guy loves quicker surfaces, looking to serve and volley when possible. Everything about his game is just poorly suited to the demands of clay.
On the other hand. Nicolas Jarry is a true clay-court aficionado. However, the 29-year-old Chilean is in a significant rut, going 1-6 in his last six outings. Jarry had been in a mini-renaissance these past 18 months or so, rising to a career-high ranking of 16 last year. He loves the sticky stuff, reaching four clay-court finals these past two years. He produced the week of his life during last year’s clay-court campaign, going down to Alex Zverev in the Rome Masters final. Jarry isn’t your usual clay-court specialist, employing a brand of aggressive first-strike tennis. But he has really struggled this year, labouring to a 1-3 record during the South American clay-court swing. He will be hoping to turn his form around quickly (and may have found the perfect opponent with which to do it).
The Verdict: Jarry to win in straight sets at 2.75- Humbert leads the head-to-head 2-0, winning their last meeting in three sets at the 2023 Basel Indoors. They have never met on clay, and this should present Jarry with the perfect opportunity to end his current drought. Humbert looks lost in the dirt and Jarry’s fearsome baseline hitting should be enough to subdue the Frenchman.
