"I'm a nice person... People use that against me" - Ugo Humbert 'disappointed', 'surprised' at not being allocated Center Court at Paris Masters 2024
Ugo Humbert booked his spot in the 2024 Paris Masters’ last-16 with a decisive over Marcos Giron. The French No. 1 came through 6-3, 6-2 comfortably.
In fact, the encounter was much more straightforward than his three-set opener against another American in the form of Brandon Nakashima. He, however, still seemed to have enjoyed that encounter more.
Speaking to the media during his post-match press conference, Humbert said he was disappointed at not being put on the Centre Court given that he had been waiting to play in front of packed crowds at the tournament all year.
He pointed out that him being the top-ranked Frenchman in the world rankings should have automatically earned him a spot on the central showcourt.
"I'm the French no. 1, I deserved to play on the Bercy Centre Court," Ugo Humbert said via L'Equipe. "I've been waiting for this since the beginning of the year."
Elaborating on his emotions, Humbert said he had been caught off-guard. He however tried to reason his actions, saying that he had gotten accustomed to people “using” his emotional side against him.
"I was obviously disappointed with the line-up and a little surprised. I'm a nice person. So, sometimes, people use that a little against me," the Frenchman said.
Ugo Humbert enters last-16 stage at 2024 Paris Masters
Ugo Humbert, the top-ranked French player in the ATP rankings, finds himself agonizingly close to matching his best performance at his home event in Paris-Bercy.
Playing as the 15th seed, Humbert has taken two solid wins over Americans Brandon Nakashima and Marcos Giron this week.
The Frenchman needed to bring out his best tennis in his opener against Nakashima, overcoming a mid-match stumble to close out a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win. He was much more in control of proceedings against Giron, coming through in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
The last (and only) time that Humbert has made it to the quarterfinals or further at the Masters 1000 event was way back in 2020. He has failed to find a way past the second round on all other occasions.
Humbert is set to take on second seed and multi-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz in the round-of-16. The Spaniard scored a solid looking 7-5, 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry in his first match at Paris Bercy.
In the absence of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, a win over Alcaraz could place Humbert well in the hunt for the title.