Atmane survives cramp ordeal to eliminate Humbert in two tiebreaks

Terence Atmane produced one of the most dramatic victories of this year’s Mutua Madrid Open by beating fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert, the No 30 seed, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) on Saturday – a match that turned into a physical ordeal in its closing stages and left the sport with a scene it will not quickly forget.

The 24-year-old from Saint-Martin-Boulogne, ranked No 47, controlled much of the contest with the left-handed power and baseline weight that made him a name last summer, when he reached the Cincinnati semi-finals by defeating Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune before losing to Jannik Sinner. Against Humbert he was the better player for long stretches – until his body gave way.

Leading 5-2 in the second set, Atmane was struck by severe cramps. By 5-4, he was on the clay, groaning in pain, unable to move and limited to conversations with the physio and the chair umpire — the rules of the sport preventing him from receiving treatment during a tiebreak. Humbert fetched a chair that Atmane did not sit in. What followed tested both players in ways a tiebreak rarely does.

Humbert, who had served at 5-4 in the tie-break and held a clear opportunity to close the match, could not convert. He played several returns too short, avoided the drop shot that the situation seemed to demand, and lost the last four points as Atmane somehow gathered himself to finish the job. The handshake at the net was cold – Humbert’s frustration at the delays his opponent had taken at certain moments of the match plain to see.

It was Atmane’s second win of the week, having beaten Serb Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 7-5 in the opening round. He will face the winner of the match between Argentine Mariano Navone and second seed Alexander Zverev next.

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