Red-Hot Humbert shocks top deed Fritz in Basel upset; second seed Shelton also out

Ugo Humbert won against Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday evening. He’ll face American qualifier Reilly Opelka in the next round

23 October 2025

Ugo Humbert, Basel 2025 | © Action Plus / Panoramic

Cédric Rouquette

Swiss Indoors Basel •Round of 16 • Completed

See draw

T. FritzvsU. Humbert

Frenchman Ugo Humbert delivered a stunning statement at the Swiss Indoors Basel on Thursday evening, defeating top seed and world No. 4 Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 event. The victory was a significant milestone for Humbert, marking his 14th career Top 10 victory and his first of the season. Furthermore, it was his sixth career win over a Top 5 player, and his first since taking out then-World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Masters in 2024.

The defeat halts Fritz’s Basel campaign, which had started with difficulty. The American had struggled through a tough, three-set battle against “Monégasque” wildcard Valentin Vacherot, the recent Shanghai champion, winning 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5. However, Fritz had no answer for the clinical indoor hard court prowess of the unseeded Humbert, who is now 10-1 on indoor courts this season, with his only loss coming to Casper Ruud in the Stockholm final just last Sunday.

Humbert’s victory over the World No. 4 makes him the first man to defeat the No. 1 seed in Basel prior to the quarterfinals since Kristof Vliegen took out Guillermo Coria in 2005. The 24th-ranked Frenchman, who finished runner-up in Stockholm last week, was in sublime form, following up his opening-round win against American Sebastian Korda (6-3, 6-4) with another commanding straight-sets triumph.

Humbert – Opelka next

Humbert’s reward is a quarterfinal showdown with American qualifier Reilly Opelka. The American giant earned his spot after a hard-fought Round of 16 match against lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp, winning 7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 6-3. This marks the fourth quarterfinal at a Tour level event for Opelka in 2025. Opelka had previously defeated Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round.

Meanwhile, fourth seed Casper Ruud of Norway secured his quarterfinal berth by overcoming home favorite and 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-6 (5). Ruud is currently on a six-match winning streak after capturing his first indoor ATP Tour title in Stockholm on Sunday, and boasts an outstanding 13-1 record indoors this season, with his sole loss coming in the Dallas final to Denis Shapovalov.

Ruud, who defeated lucky loser Quentin Halys 6-1, 7-6 (3) in his opener, is now set to face eighth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. Davidovich Fokina had to dig deep to defeat American Jenson Brooksby, recent finalist at UTS Hong Kong, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-5 in a demanding Round of 16 clash.

Auger-Aliassime close to the Top 10

Defending champion and fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada continued his indoor momentum, advancing with a close 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) victory over qualifier and former champion Marin Cilic. In a battle of former Basel champions (Auger-Aliassime won in 2022 and 2023, Cilic in 2016), the Canadian was dominant on serve; there were only two break points in the entire match (both for Auger-Aliassime), and he lost just two points out of 50 on his first serve.

This victory brings Auger-Aliassime’s Basel main draw record to a phenomenal 13-1, with his only loss being to eventual champion Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the second round last year. Should Auger-Aliassime win his next match and reach the semifinals, or if Daniil Medvedev fails to win the title in Vienna, the Canadian would return to the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time since June 2023.

Shelton upset

Auger-Aliassime will face unseeded Jaume Munar in the quarter-finals. Munar, ranked No. 42, delivered the second major surprise of the tournament by knocking out second seed Ben Shelton in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Shelton, who was a finalist in Basel last year, had only played his second indoor event of the year after losing to Munar in the Dallas second round in February.

In the final section of the draw, Canadian ninth seed Denis Shapovalov smoothly advanced past lucky loser Valentin Royer with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win, setting up a quarterfinal encounter with Brazilian teen wildcard Joao Fonseca. Fonseca received a walkover victory when seventh seed Jakub Mensik withdrew from their second-round match. Fonseca had previously ousted Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6 (6), 6-3 in the first round.

Basel ATP 500, other second-round results (St. Jakobshalle., hard, EUR 2.523.045, most recent results first):