ROLAND GARROS

May 25, 2024

Ugo Humbert

Press Conference

(In French.)

UGO HUMBERT: Who would wear this outfit in this room?

THE MODERATOR: I would.

UGO HUMBERT: I think it's great. I think it's great. It's my outfit and I like it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about the first round, which is coming up? First of all, do you like playing on a Sunday in Roland Garros? Some people feel that the tournament hasn't started yet on the first Sunday. What do you think about that?

UGO HUMBERT: I didn't have a choice. I wasn't asked, and I didn't really look into this. I came to Paris last night, and I'm into it right away because I'm playing on Sunday at 11:00 a.m., so I have no time to adapt.

But it's good, as well. I won't challenge anything. I'll go on the court, and I'll go and play the match. I know Sonego rather well. I played him in Monaco this year and last year. In Roland, as well last year. He's a great player. We like playing together. He builds a good game, and he's a very good player.

Q. How do you feel on the eve of a triple tournament which is Roland Garros, then Wimbledon, which you like in particular, and then back to Roland Garros for the Olympics? How do you feel on the eve of that?

UGO HUMBERT: I don't really ask myself those questions. I'm happy to be here, Roland Garros. The French Open is a really great tournament for all French people. In fact, I have watched the qualifications a little bit. I saw that the public was really supportive, and I have an incredible program.

When you like tennis, you like what you do. You're told, Well, you go first to the French Open, then to Wimbledon, and then back to the Olympics. Well, I feel honestly I'm very lucky.

Q. Yesterday in the press conference, Alize said that the public in Roland Garros was not always easy. What is your opinion about that?

UGO HUMBERT: Well, I feel she's played a little more matches than I have, because for me, every time it was rather quick. Well, I feel like it's a good public, as when you play in France, people expect you to fight from the first till the last point. They expect you to give everything you have, and they are behind you. Because after all, it's not one against one. It's two against one.

I could feel it when I played against Kyrgios in Australia and I could feel the public was behind him and supporting him, and it's not easy.

Q. People say it's a very open tournament. If you were us and you had to define who would be the three favorites of this tournament, who would be in your short list, or four?

UGO HUMBERT: I don't know. It's so random. This is the beauty of the sport. You never know.

Sometimes you have great surprises. I honestly don't want to take a risk. I would say Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner are the best. I wouldn't know what to say. And to be honest, I'm not really interested into this, knowing who's favorite.

I feel it will be beautiful matches to play. Everybody has an opportunity in a Grand Slam tournament. Many things can happen.

We'll see. It's really interesting.

Q. Coming back to Sonego, can you tell us a bit more than you said earlier? What will you have to do differently or better than what you did in Monte-Carlo, which is your last landmark really?

UGO HUMBERT: Yes, Monaco we had a great match, a great atmosphere between the French and Italians. He always tries to create a good game, to build a game. He's very aggressive.

It's not that he likes to run and put one more ball into the court, but he is dangerous. He has a great touch. He had a lot of dropshots in Monaco. I played as a lefty. I tried to play a good ball every time I could, and I didn't panic. Because the first set was very tight, but I continued playing the way I was playing and doing well, and as time went, I felt I was taking the best of him.

I will continue doing my best and it will be a great battle.