A number one not happy with short number one. Ugo Humbert, French tennis leader in the ATP rankings, said he was “disappointed and surprised” to be scheduled on the small court of the Rolex Paris Masters this Wednesday.
Against the American Marcos Giron, Humbert (18th in the world) did not linger on the short annex of the Parisian hall: in 59 minutes, he ejected his American opponent 6-3, 6-2 to secure a meeting you prestige with Carlos Alcaraz, this time surely on the center court and probably in the evening.
“I think I deserved better than that. I am French number one, I also deserved to play at Central Bercy. I’ve been waiting for this since the start of the year, it’s my favorite tournament. I was obviously disappointed with the programming and also a little surprised. I am a nice person, so sometimes people use that a little against me,” he regretted at a press conference.
“But I am very happy to have won to deserve my match against Alcaraz on the Central,” added Humbert.
A first set completed in half an hour, a second even faster, concluded with a final winning serve: the 26-year-old left-hander was never put in danger by Giron, who only hit five winning shots (against 23 for Humbert). A year ago, no French player had reached the round of 16 in the Parisian arena. Humbert was even the only one present in the second round, which made this 2023 vintage the worst for French tennis in Bercy.
For the very last edition of the tournament in this venue before the move to Paris La Défense Arena in 2025, there will be at least four there: Humbert, Arthur Fils (20th), Adrian Mannarino (58th) and Arthur Rinderknech (60th) .
