Humbert and De Minaur advance to Antwerp European Open final

Ugo Humbert and Alex De Minaur advanced to the Antwerp European Open following victories on Saturday.

The first semifinal of the Antwerp European Open was played between Ugo Humbert and Dan Evans and calling it an epic affair would be an understatement. The match lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes and Ultimately Humbert prevailed 4-6 7-6(7) 6-4. The first set showcased just how epic the match would be as there was plenty of excitement early on. Neither played served well but Evans proved a little bit better and the key to victory was his better play on his 2nd serve. Humbert struggled more on his 2nd serve allowing Evans to break him twice to win the set.

The 2nd set started better for Humbert who took a 3-0 lead. Evans raised his aggressiveness and attacked Ugo repeatedly. The Frenchman held on for a while but soon faltered to make it 3-3. After a good run by both players, we arrived in the tiebreak. It was tightly contested one but Humbert prevailed. Visibly disappointed by the loss Evans played a terrible opening game sustaining a break. That would prove key as Humbert held on to end the match 6-4.

The 2nd semifinal match was played between De Minaur and Dimitrov. The opening set was a long one and featured a strong battle between the players. De Minaur took the first break but lost his serve in the next game. Dimitrov broke him once more to take a lead but again similar to his opponent could not hold it. Ultimately we ended up in a tiebreak where the Australian proved more composed. His serve proved key in that one as he served better which allowed him to win points easier. The 2nd set started with Dimitrov playing better.

He had a break chance early but he failed to use it. After winning his own service game with ease he finally broke De Minaur to take the 4-2 lead. It would not last long as the Australian came back immediately with a 3-game run to make it 5-4. After some more good tennis, we arrived in yet another tiebreak. In it, De Minaur played rather bad and lost 3-7. The start of the final set saw both of them play well and hold their serve. It wasn't until midway through it that Dimitrov lost his serve giving De Minaur the 4-3 lead. Dimitrov struck back immediately to make it 4-4 but De Minaur broke him once more for 5-4. He ended the epic match in the next game.