ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 31, 2023

Ugo Humbert

Press Conference

U. HUMBERT/M. Giron

6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. You played him in Basel last week. What made the difference with respect to the match in Basel where it was tighter?

UGO HUMBERT: Well, the conditions were different. Frankly, I'm very satisfied of my first round. Last week I saved match points, but I was expecting a difficult match. I refocused, I served well. I did the job, and I'm happy with my first match.

Q. We have the impression that you have a lot of energy at this end of season. When we look at the matches you played over the last weeks, many players are tired. You seem to be full of energy. How do you explain that?

UGO HUMBERT: I don't even ask myself the question. When you're in rhythm and playing matches after match, you don't ask yourself the question. I didn't relax, didn't have that down period, feeling a bit tired.

But I'm feeling well, and the crowd is supporting me in France, so I think they will give me the additional energy when I will need it. So I'm very happy to be here.

Q. When you entered the court, all French players before you had lost since the beginning of the tournament. Did you have additional pressure? Of course there is Gael who is going to play afterwards, but there was an additional focus on you. Did it change anything with respect to your view of the tournament?

UGO HUMBERT: No, it didn't change anything. I have been focusing on my work for one year and I'm doing it quite well, so there is no pressure. I just try to do my best, and I'm almost at my best ranking.

I played very well over the last weeks, and it's two tournaments I love with here and then Metz afterwards, so it's a bonus. I'm very relaxed with respect to that.

Q. Thanks to these victories, you will become No. 1 in France in the ATP and the race, although there is still Metz and Sofia. What would it represent for you if you would end the year at the No. 1 place in France, and if you had been told that at the beginning of this season?

UGO HUMBERT: Well, if it's the case, the story would be nice. Even if I finish No. 2 it will be a nice story. But, frankly, I'm very satisfied of everything that's happening, what I have implemented.

But of course it would be nice to finish No. 1 in France. Of course I'm thinking about it. Mannarino is very robust and Arthur is also playing very well. But there's a sort of positive emulation between these three generations. We're pulling each other higher.

Q. You will play Zverev in the next round. You had beaten him in Halle in 2021, your only match. Do you remember that match?

UGO HUMBERT: Yes, it was on grass. It's a specific surface. I remember he was serving pretty well both for first and second serves. He played an excellent serve match. So I will have to be robust.

Whenever I have opportunities, I'll have to grasp them, and it's going to be a wonderful match and a wonderful atmosphere. So I'm eager to be there.

Q. Do you feel a difference in how to approach your entrance on the court in Bercy, which is an exceptional court? When was your first Bercy? Do you have the impression of controlling the crowd and the audience?

UGO HUMBERT: I'm feeling much more at ease on the tour, and I remember that, because when the first year I arrived, I was super stressed. Oh, you're going to play on center court, there's a lot of people, a lot of noise. It's not easy.

But here I'm able to focus on my tennis, build my own tennis. So I progressed a lot in this respect.

I'm very happy, because it's not easy to control when you're a young player. It's with experience. When I was younger I didn't understand why experience, but then I was fed up of that comment.

But after some time you start to learn, you try to do differently to improve. I'm controlling that more and more, and I feel more and more comfortable.

Q. A question regarding the tournament of Bercy. We're talking about potential relocation in 2025 because it's too small with respect to the other Masters 1000 tournaments. What do you think of that decision? Do you think it was a nice atmosphere of Bercy, or do you understand that we have to adapt to the modern requirements of ATP?

UGO HUMBERT: I understand that ATP wants to adapt and improve, but for me, Bercy is a mythical tournament and has been so for years. I came to see it when I was young. So I think there's something special about it.

But if I say I can win Bercy, it's like a mythical achievement. I hope it will stay here. I love this tournament here.