"I'm not afraid" - Carlos Alcaraz's Wimbledon 4R opponent Ugo Humbert ready to bother the defending champion after tips from Frances Tiafoe

Carlos Alcaraz’s fourth-round opponent at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Ugo Humbert, is ready for the challenge. Ahead of their match, Humbert revealed that Frances Tiafoe gave him some tips to trouble the Spaniard.

Alcaraz isn’t enjoying the smoothest of runs at SW19 -- a set in each of his matches so far has gone to a tiebreak. Despite being pushed in his opening two rounds by Mark Lajal and Alexander Vukic, though, the defending champion prevailed in straight sets.

Carlos Alcaraz, however, failed to produce a similar performance against Frances Tiafoe in the third round. The American player held a two-sets-to-one lead against the World No. 3 and was just moments away from victory, having forced a fourth-set tiebreak. Alcaraz, however, turned the corner at the point to steal the win, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2. He now faces Ugo Humbert in the fourth round on Sunday, July 7.

The Frenchman, too, has had to battle through a couple of tough matches. He edged out Alexander Shevchenko in five sets before securing a straight-set win over Botic Van de Zandschulp. In his most recent match, he beat Brandon Nakashima in four sets. According to L’Equipe, ahead of his match with Carlos Alcaraz, the Frenchman said:

"It's the kind of match I love to play. That's why I play tennis."

"I'm not afraid, I'm in a mode where I say to myself, ‘If you want to win, you have no choice,’" he added. "I'm more in action than in reflection. I'm going to try to savor it, to play my game and we'll see. I have a chance of annoying him. I'm ready to seize the opportunities."

Ugo Humbert also revealed that he was able to converse with Frances Tiafoe following his narrow defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. According to him, the American found some flaws in the 21-year-old’s game.

"I talked with Tiafoe in the locker room, who wasn't far away against him. He told me that there were times when Alcaraz left a little space, when he had missed a little," Humbert, who's never faced the Spaniard before, noted.

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"I loved watching Carlos Alcaraz in his final last year" - Ugo Humbert ahead of Wimbledon 4R

Carlos Alcaraz is the Wimbledon defending champion (Image Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz was relatively inexperienced on the surface before he won his maiden grasscourt title at the 2023 Queen’s Club Championships. His victory came just weeks before his heroics against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. About the Spaniard’s enthralling performance, Ugo Humbert said:

"Who doesn't enjoy watching him play? I loved watching him in his final last year here," he said in the aforementioned interview.

The World No. 16 also acknowledged Alcaraz’s recent French Open success.

"…and in the Roland Garros final. He produces a lot of play!"

While the Spaniard was triumphant in Paris, he did not have the best start to the grasscourt season. He failed to defend his title at Queen’s Club, losing to Jack Draper in the second round. Ugo Humbert, too, hasn’t had an ideal preparation in the lead-up to Wimbledon. He kicked off his campaign with a semifinal appearance at the Libema Open but followed it with two opening-round exits at Queen’s Club and Mallorca.

The Frenchman, though, is familiar with the surface, having won the ATP 500 Halle title in 2021. This is also his second time in the fourth round at SW19. He would thus hope to bank on his experience to challenge Alcaraz in the upcoming match.