Ugo Humbert ends Stefanos Tsitsipas’ title defense in Dubai | ATP tour | Tennis

Dubai

Humbert wins battle against former champions against Tsitsipas in Dubai

Medvedev causes a collision between Wawrinka, Bublik takes the lead
February 24, 2026

Ugo Humbert and Stefanos Tsitsipas both took to the court on Wednesday with the aim of building on good memories from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

It was 2024 titlist Humbert who added to his storybook run in Dubai by ending Tstisipas’ title defense with a 6-4, 7-5 first-round win at the hard-court ATP 500. Although Tsitsipas was just five points behind his first serve in the match, Humbert crucially grabbed the only break of each set to complete an 86-minute victory, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Ugo gets the W🫡

The Frenchman triumphs in the battle of former champions in Dubai@DDFTennis | #DDFTennispic.twitter.com/ISTE8eiysc

— ATP tour (@atptour) February 24, 2026

“I think it was a big battle on serve,” said the number 37 in the PIF ATP Rankings Humbert. “We served very well from the beginning to the end. I was a bit lucky. In the last game at 5-4 I made a double fault, but when I had opportunities I took them. I am happy with this first victory, because Stef is a great player.”

Humbert is now 7-1 in Dubai, where he will next face another former titlist, Andrey Rublev, or his compatriot Valentin Royer. The 27-year-old has recorded four wins against Top 30 opponents in 2026, equaling his tally from all of last season.

Former world number 3 Tsitsipas showed signs of a revival last week in Doha, where he defeated Daniil Medvedev on his way to the quarter-finals. Still, the 27-year-old will slip out of the Top 40 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time since May 2018 next Monday following his loss to Humbert.

Third seed from Dubai, Medvedev wasted little time in setting up another clash between two former champions in the UAE. The 2023 titlist raced past Shang Juncheng 6-1, 6-3 to book a second-round meeting with 2016 winner Stan Wawrinka. Medvedev leads Wawrinka 3-2 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, winning the pair’s most recent meeting in Rotterdam in 2025.

Alexander Bublik and Karen Khachanov were also early winners on Tuesday. Second seed Bublik defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4 and will face Tallon Greekpoor for a quarter-final spot after the Dutchman defeated qualifier Otto Virtanen 6-3, 6-4.

The seventh-seeded Khachanov got past Alexander Shevchenko 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 and advanced against Jenson Brooksby, a 6-3, 6-4 winner against Zizou Bergs. Arthur Rinderknech also came from behind to book a place in the second round as the Frenchman defeated Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to meet fourth seed Jack Draper.

After progressing through qualifying to clinch his place in the main draw, former Top 10 star Pablo Carreno Busta improved his strong Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Denis Shapovalov with an impressive first round win in Dubai. The Spaniard won 6-2, 6-4 for his sixth win in eight tour-level meetings between the two, and he will face Jiri Lehecka for a place in the last eight. Eighth-seeded Lehecka defeated Luca Nardi for an opening 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win.