Entering the Rolex Paris Masters, Ugo Humbert had never reached an ATP Masters 1000 final. So despite falling short Sunday in the championship clash to Alexander Zverev, the lefty was in good spirits.
“It was a beautiful week, despite my defeat today. My feeling is that I gave it my all, I have no regrets,” Humbert said. “He was stronger than me in every aspect of tennis. I couldn't recover from yesterday's match enough, but congrats to him.”
Zverev firmly took hold of the match early on and never let go, dominating the action from the outset in his 6-2, 6-2 victory. But Humbert battled until the end to try to thrill his home crowd.
“It was tough. I tried until the end to be faithful to myself, to my values, to put up a battle until the end. When it's not over, there's still hope, and with this public, it's crazy,” Humbert said. “He missed two points only, the first two shots. And then he never missed afterwards. I believed in it until the end. I hoped that I would level the scores, but ultimately the scores were quite painful for me. So I fought until the end, and this is what I want to keep in mind.”
On Saturday, Humbert earned one of the biggest wins of his career against Karen Khachanov to make his maiden Masters 1000 final. But the 26-year-old was unable to produce his aggressive best on Sunday against Zverev.
“Physically, when I woke up this morning during the warmup it was not easy. I was tired. But I accepted that it was the way it was. Mentally, I also felt that I was less composed,” Humbert said. “As for him, his serve was amazing during the first set. I had no free points during the second set. Sometimes I could have some free points, but also, his forehand I thought that I could try to get something, but he gave me nothing. The only point I could get is when he had a crosscourt backhand. Otherwise nothing.”
[ATP APP]After a tournament in which Humbert upset four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz and broke new ground, he explained that he is not surprised by his performance.
“I felt that I was capable, so I'm not surprised that I reached that level, that I beat Alcaraz, to have reached the finals of a Masters 1000 tournament.” Humbert said. “I’m working hard. I have a great team around me to help me and guide me.
“So all in all, I'm glad that it paid off this week, but I'm not surprised to have reached that level.”
It was a thrilling week for the No. 14 player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He came within two sets of becoming the first French Rolex Paris Masters champion since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008.
“This tournament is amazing. The history, the track record of this tournament, with all the players who won this tournament, it's crazy,” Humbert said. “I would have liked to etch my name on the trophy, but I did my utmost. I wanted to live this tournament intensively. This is what happened. Every match was riveting. I'm delighted that I could go through this experience with my team, my family, my friends, and the French public.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]