Ugo Humbert has defended the crowd at the Paris Masters after losing a tight three-set battle to Alexander Zverev. The Frenchman took to Centre Court a few hours after Daniil Medvedev appeared to give fans the middle finger after he was booed during his own defeat and sarcastically claimed that he was just checking his nails.
There was drama in Paris-Bercy on Wednesday when Medvedev refused to continue his match against Grigor Dimitrov while being booed by the crowd at 5-5 in the second set, ultimately resuming when he received a time violation. The world No 3 was heard telling the spectators to “shut your mouth” in French and when he walked off the court following his three-set loss, he appeared to give the crowd the middle finger sneakily.
With clear sarcasm, he later laughed and demonstrated what he did in a post-match press conference. “No, I didn’t [show them the middle finger]. I just checked my nails, like this. No, really, it’s nothing more than that. Why would I do that to this beautiful crowd in Paris-Bercy?” he grinned.
The Russian also admitted that it wasn’t his favourite tennis crowd, adding: “As for some tournaments, there are some tournaments to which I like to come back, and here, well, I have problems with the crowd. It happens.” But Humbert has defended the fans at his home tournament.
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The 25-year-old faced 10th seed Zverev in a rollercoaster match later on Wednesday. He found himself a set and a break down with the German serving for the match before he managed to use the crowd’s energy to break back, forcing a decider where he raced into the lead before ultimately losing.
After the match, Humbert was asked whether he could understand why some players might “hate” the crowd with reference to Medvedev’s gesture. But the Frenchman shut the suggestion down.
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The world No 26 replied: “No, I cannot imagine, because they supported me and pushed me until the end. I was one set down 4-5 and I said it can’t end like that. I felt that they would be able to change the outcome of the match, so I played on that. I used them, and it’s one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever lived. So it was fantastic.”
Humbert was a break up in the final set and led 4-2 in the decisive tiebreak before Zverev stormed back to win 6-4 6-7(3) 7-6(5). But the home hero was still happy to share such a magical moment with the fans, adding: “I was very close. It was a fabulous match. I had an incredible moment on the court. I’m just sad of not being able to give the victory to all my supporters. They pushed me all the way to the end, and it’s the small regret I have.”
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