French number 1 Ugo Humbert (23rd) won the Metz tournament, on his home soil, by dominating Russian Alexander Shevchenko (63rd) on Saturday in two sets (6-3, 6-3), to win the fourth title of his career, which will allow him to enter the ATP Top 20 on Monday.
Imperial on serve (three points lost in the first set) and very solid on the return, the 25-year-old Messin confirmed his excellent end to the year by winning his first final of a tournament of this level (ATP 250) this season.