Open Sud de France 2020: Ugo Humbert vs Feliciano Lopez, match preview and prediction

After a modest start to his new season, Feliciano Lopez will be looking to improve on his results as he begins his campaign at the 2020 Open Sud de France on Wednesday.

His opponent for the day will be eight seed home player Ugo Humbert. The Frenchman, who got off to a flying start in 2020 with a title in Auckland will be looking to recover from the upset in Melbourne, where he lost to a spirited John Millman.

This will be the first meeting between the two players, who despite their vastly mismatched experience on tour make up for a rather well-balanced matchup.

Ugo Humbert got off to a solid start in 2020 with a title run in Auckland.

The younger of the two men, Humbert has been on an ascend for a while now and all aspects of his game together in Auckland, where he won despite solid opposition.

That would have done his confidence a great deal of good and he will be looking to put the Australian Open setback behind him to continue his good results on the ATP Tour events, much like his fellow Next Gen stars.

He can take heart from the career trajectories of some of the leaders of the Next Gen stars, who might continue to struggle against the old guard at the Grand Slam events, but have delivered big results outside of them.

Lopez has added a whole new dimension to his game with his ever-improving game at the net.

Humbert will have to wary of his dynamic opponent though. Lopez is not scared to experiment with his game even at the age of 38 and his latest addition of solid volleys and approach shot to an already strong arsenal has yielded good results.

The Spaniard has a few good wins in doubles and one over Fabio Fognini in the singles to show for in 2020 already and an upset here will set him up for a good 2020 season.

It will be an interesting match-up featuring varying styles of play and although the Australian hardcourts are not the strongest suit for either, good recent results hold them in good stead. Coming into this match, the title run in Auckland and the confidence might just tilt this one in the favour of the younger of the two men.

Prediction: Humbert to win in two tight sets.