ROLAND GARROS

May 26, 2024

Ugo Humbert

Press Conference

L. SONEGO/U. Humbert

6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Sonego was not an easy player to play against in the first round. What did he do?

UGO HUMBERT: He's really good on clay, that's true. His match was really very solid, that's true. Then my level was not as good as what I expected, and therefore, I thought, well, it's not enough to go to the second round.

Q. I know that you arrived here at Roland Garros quite late, and you had to play at 11:00 this morning. Did this have an impact because you didn't have much time to get into it?

UGO HUMBERT: I didn't really wonder about this. I practiced in Lyon, and this was a good solution I think to do things this way. Then I was told I would play on Sunday and at 11:00 almost immediately. I didn't have time to adapt, but then that's not the reason why I lost.

Q. Ugo, now, think about the reasons you could think about. Is it because you didn't compete that often because you had this knee injury, and is it physical or mental because sometimes I got the impression you were not present in the match, and that's what you were saying to your clan. You were hitting your head with a racket head like you were not on the court.

UGO HUMBERT: That's true. I didn't play enough matches. You know, for me it's a bit of a tough period. I would say I don't have the energy I need to have, but then unfortunately, when the match was over, I thought, well, given what I have today, given what I'm living through, it's not easy for me. So I'm very happy to be on the courts and proud of what I did.

Q. What about the next steps? You're going to play on grass. I suppose you're going to enjoy it. You're going to find feelings that you like, a surface you like, I suppose.

UGO HUMBERT: Yeah, that's true. I love this surface, and I'll take care about myself. I'll take some time off to take a rest and then to build up my mental energy. That's very important I think.

Then you know I like playing on grass. Last year I didn't win a match, but then it's still a surface I like. So life continues. I'll get ready for this. The Roland I played was not the Roland Garros I expected, but there will be other tournaments to come, so I'll focus on what's coming next.

Q. You won one match only in Roland, but with years do you think that one day you can go deeper in the draw and then have the thrill here, or here again you'll say, Oh, missed it?

UGO HUMBERT: No, each time I think to myself, I hope I'm going to enjoy these two weeks, and first finish the first week would be a good thing. It would be a feat. I still have hope. I think to myself that even though I've not yet played well on this tournament, I know that everything is possible.

Q. (Off microphone)

UGO HUMBERT: 's-Hertogenbosch is where I'm going to play on grass again next.