ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 27, 2024

Ugo Humbert

Press Conference

(In French.)

THE MODERATOR: Hello, Ugo. Welcome in Paris. How do you feel at the end of this season?

UGO HUMBERT: I feel good. I'm always delighted to be here. It's always easy to end the season in France with Bercy and Metz, so I'm very happy to be here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You manage to regroup before every tournament. You said that you were exhausted, but you have great motivation, right?

UGO HUMBERT: Yes. The season was indeed long. I do feel tired, but once you're in France with the support of the public, and, you know, in Metz, being close to home with the crowd is great.

Q. About being fresh again, do you think that you will change the way you approach your tournaments next season so as not to be exhausted, as you said a few days ago?

UGO HUMBERT: Yes. I will change my schedule next season, because it's true that I had too much match play. When I played well, I wanted to play a lot of tournaments in a row.

I felt invincible. But it turned out that after a week, I was completely exhausted, because at the end of the tournaments, it required a lot of mental energy. So I think I have to manage my schedule better next year.

Q. In a video for UTS, Shelton said that you were the best indoors player worldwide. Why is it so?

UGO HUMBERT: I hadn't heard that he would say so. Well, I learned to play indoors when I was young. I have always played indoors, so this is how I managed to develop qualities that make me a good player on this surface.

I have also good hits. My serve, I'm a lefty, so I manage to have a lot of diversity on my serve, and I can be very aggressive on this surface. Especially here I see that the surface is very fast. With the ball it goes right off, so it suits me very well, but I haven't won that type of tournament yet.

I didn't hear that he said that. It's very nice of him (smiling).

Q. What does Bercy represent for you? It's the last tournament of the season. It's something specific for you in the way you approach it?

UGO HUMBERT: So if there was really one tournament I wanted to win was Metz, but now strike off Metz, is done, so now it's Bercy, because I saw the best win here, like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the same thing. He won when I was young.

It's a very specific tournament. It's the best atmosphere all year long, because the French crowd is really hot. And the fact that it's indoors, you know, when I played Zverev last year, it was the best experience I had on the court in terms of atmosphere. It was amazing.

I'm a bit sad that it's the last one, but I'll try to enjoy every moment so as to have a beautiful week here.

Q. Last year against Zverev, you said that you were in a trance somehow. Did you manage to find this type of condition again on court? Would it be helpful or quite the opposite?

UGO HUMBERT: Yes, it did happen to me again this year, but there is also the atmosphere that plays in when you also play against the best in the world. I had this when I played Alcaraz in Wimbledon. I saw the ball, but it was a big ball. It was a football. You know, I had the feeling that I couldn't miss a ball.

And the fact that last year there was this crowd, I saw everybody standing up every time I would win. It was incredible. When I went back to the locker room, I actually fell down. This is exactly why I play tennis.

Q. A question on the draw. How deep do you want to have a run?

UGO HUMBERT: I want to win my first match. I'm playing a good player who's made a lot of progress. He's got a good serve. We've played twice together already. I want to focus on this first match. I know it won't be easy.

There is no limit. I don't ask myself any questions about that. If I play well, I can win a few matches. We'll see.

Q. A question on Giovanni who is shining in Basel. Does it impress you? Are you surprised to see him standing out so much over the last months?

UGO HUMBERT: I haven't seen him play that much, but it's true that after Lyon he can actually win a 500-points title, and his play is wonderful. I practiced with him a couple of times. He has a strong first serve. Even on his second serve. So I'm sure he plays very well, and he's making a lot of progress. He's got a good coach. He's got a good team.

So it's not a surprise to see him standing out like that, and I wouldn't be surprised that he wins an ATP 500.