It’s day 3 at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Wawrinka played his last match of his career yesterday in the loss to Lehecka. There are plenty of interesting names to follow in Switzerland this week though, here’s a look at two of the matches on Wednesday: Novak Djokovic vs. Ugo Humbert and Hubert Hurkacz vs. Holger Rune, with our predictions and best bets.
Novak Djokovic vs Ugo Humbert
Djokovic, the fourth seed and world No. 12, opens his Basel campaign off a mixed few weeks. He won a record seventh China Open title in Beijing, where Alex de Minaur retired from the final, but he followed that up with a tired-looking 6-4, 6-3 loss to Hubert Hurkacz in the second round of Shanghai, the first time Hurkacz had ever beaten him. He has had a difficult 2026 by his standards, but he’s 19-8 on the year, with a title in Beijing to show for it, and has an excellent record in Basel, where he won the title in 2009.
Humbert, ranked No. 38, is 26-24 on the season but 2-8 in his last 10 matches and his form does not look great. His best results this year are semifinals in Adelaide and Eastbourne, but he’s coming off a first-round loss to Corentin Moutet in Lyon, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(4), and he has a good record at the Swiss Indoors, with semifinals in 2023 and 2025.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head 1-0, with their only meeting coming in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2019, when he won 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. They have never played on indoor hard courts.
Predictions
Humbert’s lefty serve and flat forehand are a good fit for indoor hard courts, and he has made two Basel semifinals, so this isn’t a gimme. But Djokovic is one of the best returners the game has seen and the one meeting between them was routine. I expect him to control most parts of this match.
My bet: Djokovic to win in straight sets
Hubert Hurkacz vs Holger Rune
Hurkacz comes in as the form player of the pair, currently ranked No. 28. After a strong Asian swing, with a run to the final in Chengdu and the win over Djokovic in Shanghai, he beat Zizou Bergs 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match in Basel, saving three break points at 0-40 in the decider.
Rune, meanwhile, is still in the middle of a comeback. The 23-year-old former world No. 4 ruptured his Achilles tendon at the Stockholm Open last October and spent 11 months off the tour, returning with two Davis Cup wins in September. He lost his first ATP matches back to Kyrian Jacquet in Tokyo and Daniel Altmaier in Shanghai, 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, but on Monday he finally ended a 373-day wait for an ATP win with a 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) win over Quentin Halys. He is ranked No. 1202 at present, but he has a 11-3 record in Basel and was a finalist here in 2022.
Rune leads the head-to-head 1-0, winning at the Paris Masters in 2022, 7-5, 6-1.
Predictions and best bets
Rune’s match fitness will be the issue. He has only played a handful of matches since coming back, and Halys served 32 aces against him, which is a taste of what he’s going to get from Hurkacz. The Basel crowd will give him a lift, and his record here is an excellent one, but Hurkacz’s serve and the extra rhythm should be too much.
My bet: Hurkacz to win in three sets
