Japan Open: Humbert through to semis as Draper retires
The Frenchman will face Czech Tomas Machac for a spot in the final
Frenchman Ugo Humbert reached the semi-finals of the Japan Open when Jack Draper retired on Sunday at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo.
Humbert, ranked No 18, led 7-5, 2-1 when Draper, ranked No 20, pulled out of the quarter-final clash due to an abdominal injury.
The Frenchman will play Czech Tomas Machac next. It will be his 16th career semi-final on the ATP Tour (6-9 win/loss record so far). It was also Humbert’s first Top 20 win since beating fourth-ranked Daniil Medevdev in Dubai in February, following which he had lost five semi-finals in a row.
Humbert defeated Japanese wildcard Shintaro Mochizuki (6-1, 6-2) and American Brandon Nakashima (6-3, 6-2) in the previous rounds of the tournament.
Earlier in the week, US Open semi-finalist Draper won against Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci (6-4, 6-2) and Pole Hubert Hurkacz, the second seed (6-4, 6-4).
Tokyo ATP 500, other quarter-final matches (Ariake Colosseum, hard, USD 1,818,380):
- Tomas Machac beat Alex Michelsen (Q): 7-6 (2), 6-3
- Arthur Fils vs. Ben Shelton
- Kei Nishikori vs. Holger Rune