Winner Thursday at the Masters 1000 in Paris in his round of 16 against the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, world No.2, the Frenchman Ugo Humbert (18th) was delighted at the press conference of the “best victory” of his career.
QUESTION: How did you experience this match?
ANSWER: “I started my match really well, everything was going in, I was ultra aggressive on the serve, on the return, there was no time to play. I did a great first set (editor’s note) but I spent a lot of energy. He started to raise his level of play a little in the second set, he really took over and in the third, I tried to talk to myself, to tell myself that I was training for this and that I was capable of it . I had an ultra-positive speech and that’s what allowed me to put in a great performance. I told myself that it was my last Bercy, I didn’t even ask myself the question of whether I was going to win or lose, I said to myself +Just be in the moment, have no regrets, give- you thoroughly on every point, whatever happens I want you to keep a beautiful memory+. »
Q: Are you surprised to have won against the world No.2?
R: “I knew anyway that with my game, on this surface as on the grass, I can really annoy the very best in the world. (…) I have shots on both sides that go very quickly, I had a great match and I love playing the best players in the world. (…) It’s the greatest victory of my career and the best moment I’ve experienced on a tennis court. It’s incredible, I’m training for this and I wanted the story to end better than last year (defeat in the 2nd round against Alexander Zverev, Editor’s note). I thought about the match against Zverev, it gave me strength and I’m super proud of myself. »
Q: How far do you think you’ll go in the tournament?
R: “That’s the question I don’t want to answer. That’s what’s beautiful and that’s what I love above all in sport and in tennis, is that I don’t want to make predictions, to know what will happen . I try to live the moment to the fullest, I came to Bercy to experience these kinds of emotions, this kind of match, so when I play like that, anything is possible. I don’t know how far I’m going to go, we’ll see. I’m going to prepare for my match as usual, I’m going to go and do my recovery, I’m just trying to do things well, to prepare well, to be ultra-concentrated, to enjoy the moment, and then we’ll see. He (his next opponent Jordan Thompson, Editor’s note) plays very well, he’s a great player, you have to respect him, he beat me this year. I don’t know what it’s going to be, we’ll see. Already, this evening, I’m going to try to get a good night’s sleep and come back down fairly quickly. »
Comments collected at a press conference.
