Ugo Humbert beat Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-3 in 2 hours and 38 minutes in the first round of the Rolex Paris Masters on Monday night. The Frenchman, ranked No. 38, closed the night session and will face 14th seed Brandon Nakashima or Matteo Berrettini, who meet on Tuesday, in the second round.

It was a winning return to Paris for Humbert, who reached the final in 2024, beating Carlos Alcaraz and Karen Khachanov on the way before losing to Alexander Zverev, but had to withdraw from last year’s edition with a back injury, a week after retiring in the Basel semi-finals.

After the match, Humbert thanked the fans who had stayed in the arena. “All those who stayed, it really warmed my heart,” he said, as reported by L’Équipe.

Humbert on course for an Alcaraz rematch

Humbert is in Alcaraz’s section of the draw. If both win their second-round matches, they would meet in the third round, two years after the Frenchman beat the Spaniard 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 at the same stage, a win he then called “the most beautiful victory” of his career.

He joins Luca Van Assche as the second French winner of the day, while wildcards Kyrian Jacquet and Titouan Droguet lost to qualifiers Tomas Machac and Alex Molcan.

Rolex Paris Masters 2026 first-round results

Lorenzo Musetti d. Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10)
Luca Van Assche d. Mariano Navone 6-3, 7-5
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Learner Tien (15) (Tuesday)
Novak Djokovic (10) vs Valentin Vacherot (Tuesday)
Rinky Hijikata (Q) d. Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2
Andrey Rublev vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Tuesday)
Cameron Norrie d. Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Mattia Bellucci (Q) d. Lorenzo Sonego (Q) 6-4, 6-3
Arthur Rinderknech vs Francisco Cerundolo (16) (Tuesday)
Tommy Paul (12) vs Holger Rune (PR) (Tuesday)
Daniel Merida d. Sebastian Baez (LL) 6-4, 6-2
Quentin Halys vs Arthur Fery (Tuesday)
Jan-Lennard Struff (SE) vs Arthur Gea (WC) (Tuesday)
Casper Ruud d. Juan Manuel Cerundolo (Q) 6-3, 6-2
Rafael Jodar (9) d. Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-3
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (13) vs Moise Kouame (WC) (Tuesday)
Karen Khachanov d. Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-7, 1-4 ret.
Ignacio Buse d. Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-4
Tomas Machac (Q) d. Kyrian Jacquet (WC) 7-6 (7), 6-1
Alex Molcan (Q) d. Titouan Droguet (WC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Benjamin Bonzi (Q) vs Taylor Fritz (11) (Tuesday)
Brandon Nakashima (14) vs Matteo Berrettini (Tuesday)
Ugo Humbert d. Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-3
Alex Michelsen vs Jiri Lehecka (Tuesday)