By winning in three sets (6-7 [6]6-4, 6-3) against Karen Khachanov, Ugo Humbert offered himself a place in the final at the Rolex Paris Masters.
A success that the Frenchman celebrated without restraint and shared with the public at the Accor Arena. His display of joy was not really appreciated by the 28-year-old Russian, winner of this tournament in 2018. Karen Khachanov indeed finished the match, injured in the right thigh during the 3rd set at 2-2. He lost the last eleven points and even finished the match by walking. The handshake between the two players was very frosty…
“At the net, I told him to stay a little calm and show respect,” the Russian said at a press conference. This is no way to behave. I’m always fair play, I’ll praise him if he behaves like a normal person. That’s all I can say. »
“Doing this when the other is on the ground…”
Relaunched, Karen Khachanov finally opened up a little more: “He can do what he wants with the public, I have no problem with that, but did you see me celebrating yesterday (Friday) ? Grigor (Dimitrov, beaten 6-2, 6-3 in the quarter-finals) was exhausted. He wasn’t hurt, he told me that at the end. Did you see me jump up and shout, “ Come on, come on” at every pointt? Do you think it’s good? You can celebrate after the match with the crowd, no problem. You can do whatever you want. Injuries are part of the game. But doing that when the other person is down… OK, we’ll see next time. »
