The Worlds No. 19 Ugo Humbert is set to face Arthur Fils (No. 24) in the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championship final hosted in Tokyo in a surprising turn of events. After leading their head-to-head fixtures 3-0 on the tour and 4-0 overall, Humbert will walk into the match as the favorite. The left-hander is 4-for-4 in total sets against Arthur Fils so far this year, recording 6-2, 6-2 in the Montreal Masters and 6-3, 7-6 (1) at S-Hertogenbosh. Humbert has also recorded an amazing 6-0 lifetime record at the ATP finals.
While these numbers are enough for Humbert to feel confident about his chances of success in the Tokyo finals this Tuesday, Fils has proven resilient despite a grueling tournament in Japan. The 20-year-old has recorded a three-set victory over the top-seed Taylor Fritz, followed by a three-hour marathon against Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals and a 7-6 (8), 7-6 (10) win against Holger Rune this Monday. Fils looked cramped during his match with Shelton and might have a challenging time against Humbert considering his last performance against Rune.
On the other hand, Humbert’s campaign in Japan has been totally the opposite. The 26-year-old has outsmarted Brandon Nakashima, Shintaro Mochizuki, Tomas Machac, and Jack Draper, dropping only a set against Machac in the semi-final. The match was also short-lived compared to Arthur’s last performance, lasting only an hour and 46 minutes.
This will be a great setup for Humbert, whose left-handed serve and forehand work are set to expose Fils’ weakness at the backhand. Humbert’s success history in ATP matches has also set him up as a strong favorite considering Fils’ fatigue after Monday’s fixture against Rune. As such, this might be another straightforward result between the Frenchmen, with one of the best sports betting apps offering solid odds on both of them.
Japan Open Tennis Championship Finals Information
· Tournament: The Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships
· Date: October 1
· Location: Tokyo, Japan
· Venue: Ariake Tennis Forest Park Ariake Colesseum
· Court Surface: Hard
Match Analysis
- Fils has only won one tournament this year and stands at 24-20 in his overall record.
- Humbert stands at 30-19 this year after recording two tournament victories.
- In his last 61 matches over the last year on all surfaces, Arthur Fils has recorded an average of 24.2 games per match.
- Fils has played 15 matches this year on hard courts, recording 23.9 games per match and recording 51.4% match wins.
- Fils has dominated 22.1% of his return fixtures this year and 79.7% of his service matches.
- Humbert has played 28 games on hard court in 2024, averaging 24.9 games per fixture and 9.8 serves per set. The 26-year French man has won 56.2% of these games.
- Humbert has participated in 49 matches in 2024 across all courts, averaging 26.4 games per fixture and winning 54.3% of these games.
- Humbert has averaged 84.3% service per match winning percentage, with a 23.7% success rate on return games across all surfaces. In fact, has won 551 service games from 654 matches and dominated 152 return fixtures out of 641.
