WATCH: Ugo Humbert kisses girlfriend Tessah in jubilation after winning Dubai title, shares warm embrace with coaching team
Ugo Humbert kissed his girlfriend Tessah Andrianjafitrimo after winning the Dubai Tennis Championships. The Frenchman also shared a warm embrace with his coaching team.
Humbert reached the final of the ATP 500 tournament after beating Gael Monfils, Andy Murray, Hubert Hurkacz, and Daniil Medvedev. His opponent in the final, Alexander Bublik, had seen off Tomas Machac, Tallon Griekspoor, Jiri Lehecka (walkover), and Andrey Rublev (walkover) across the previous rounds.
The final's first set was a fairly even contest until Humbert broke Bublik to go 5-4 ahead. The Frenchman made the most of his service game to ultimately clinch the set 6-4. In the second set, Bublik was broken early on as Humbert raced to a 3-1 lead. It proved too much for the Kazakh to catch up to, and it was Humbert who won the set 6-3 and with it, the title.
During the post-match celebrations, Humbert made his way up to his box and the Frenchman kissed his girlfriend, Tessah Andrianjafitrimo. He proceeded to hug the rest of his team as well.
Tessah Andrianjafitrimo stepped up temporarily to fill Ugo Humbert's full-time coach's absence in Marseille
Ugo Humbert's full-time coach Jeremy Chardy was unable to accompany him to the Open 13 in Marseille, which took place in early February. Chardy's absence led the 25-year-old to rope in his girlfriend Tessah Andrianjafitrimo as his temporary coach.
At the time, Andrianjafitrimo, a WTA player, was recovering from an injury, but nonetheless decided to accept her boyfriend's proposal. It worked out in Humbert's favor, as he won the Open 13 after defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
It also helped him reach a career-high ranking of World No. 18. The Frenchman opened up about Andrianjafitrimo's ability to make him feel relaxed during training in an interview following his Marseille triumph.
“She gave me a lot of confidence because when I arrived, I was not really confident after a bad week of practice. But during the matches, she was so focused on what I had to do. She's so positive on the court and I felt she made me really relaxed.” Humbert said (via ATPTour.com).
Andrianjafitrimo was also in Humbert's box at the Rotterdam Open and the Qatar Open. However, by then, she had stepped down from her coaching role as Humbert's full-time coach, Chardy, had returned.
The Frenchman's Dubai success saw him become the third player in the Open Era after Ernests Gulbis and Martin Klizan to win his first six finals. It was also his second ATP 500 title, with his first coming in Halle in 2021.