Fifth seed Ugo Humbert maintained his perfect record in finals by beating Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-3 to claim the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title on Saturday.
The Frenchman joins Ernests Gulbis and Martin Klizan as the only men in the Open Era to win their first six tour-level finals, with his victory over Bublik earning him a second trophy of the season.
The 25-year-old will make his top-15 debut at 14 when the updated rankings are released on Monday.
"I played a fantastic level during all the week, but today was not easy," said Humbert during the trophy ceremony.
"I have a good statistic in finals, but that's because I have a really good team around me," he added.
Humbert had a tough path to the title in Dubai.
He came back from a set down in his opener against his compatriot Gael Monfils, before knocking out Andy Murray, saving three match points against Hubert Hurkacz, and upsetting champion and top seed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the last-four.
Humbert joins Jannik Sinner as the only multiple-title winners in 2024. He also won in Marseille last month. He added a second ATP 500 trophy to his cabinet, following his success in Halle three years ago.
Meanwhile, Bublik, who reached the final when Andrey Rublev was shockingly defaulted late in their semi-final, will rise to a career-high 19 in the world thanks to his exploits in Dubai.
"This week had everything for me and I'm really happy to be here. Thank you, Ugo for reminding me how it is to lose a final," said the 26-year-old Bublik on court.
"Honestly, before the final, I thought if I would win, I would dedicate this title to my son.
"So I'm sorry, maybe next time," he added.
The players were neck and neck for most of the opening set but a risky second serve from Bublik led the Kazakhstani big-hitter to double fault and hand the frame to Humbert on the 47-minute mark.
Humbert put pressure on the Bublik serve to break serve in game four of the second set and was soon up 4-1.
Bublik tried to get in Humbert's head as the Frenchman was serving for the championship, stepping well inside the baseline to return serve.
Humbert held his nerve, saving break point and securing victory in his first meeting with Bublik on his second match point with a blitzing forehand winner. Humbert threw himself to the ground in disbelief to celebrate his hard-fought title run.
Although Bublik had entered the final with an impressive 56 aces struck through four matches, it was Humbert who out-aced his opponent on Saturday, striking nine of his own to Bublik's eight during the 85-minute final.
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
Winner: Shafaf, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Noof KB, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
Winner: Taamol, Jim Crowley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Mekhbat, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
Specs
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Lexus LX700h specs
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
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Bournemouth 0
Manchester United 2
Smalling (28'), Lukaku (70')
Scotland's team:
15-Sean Maitland, 14-Darcy Graham, 13-Nick Grigg, 12-Sam Johnson, 11-Byron McGuigan, 10-Finn Russell, 9-Ali Price, 8-Magnus Bradbury, 7-Hamish Watson, 6-Sam Skinner, 5-Grant Gilchrist, 4-Ben Toolis, 3-Willem Nel, 2-Stuart McInally (captain), 1-Allan Dell
Replacements: 16-Fraser Brown, 17-Gordon Reid, 18-Simon Berghan, 19-Jonny Gray, 20-Josh Strauss, 21-Greig Laidlaw, 22-Adam Hastings, 23-Chris Harris
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MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
Company Profile
Company name: Big Farm Brothers
Started: September 2020
Founders: Vishal Mahajan and Navneet Kaur
Based: Dubai Investment Park 1
Industry: food and agriculture
Initial investment: $205,000
Current staff: eight to 10
Future plan: to expand to other GCC markets
