The last time that the public at the Palais omnisports de Bercy cheered one of their compatriots in the final, Nicolas Sarkozy was still presiding over the destiny of France. On November 13, 2011, Roger Federer lifted the only bronze trophy of his career at the Masters 1000 in Paris by dashing the hopes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Sunday November 3, against the German Alexander Zverev, Ugo Humbert will try to become the fourth Frenchman to engrave his name on the prize list of a tournament which is experiencing its very last hours in this emblematic venue – he will migrate in 2025 to Nanterre (Hauts- de-Seine). On Saturday, the left-hander brought down, figuratively and literally, the Russian Karen Khachanov (21e world), winner in the capital in 2018 (6-7, 6-4, 6-3).
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The 26-year-old had to be patient before enjoying his first final in the most prestigious category after the four Grand Slams. “But this week, I wasn’t expecting anything, that’s why it’s working well. Today it was a little more difficult, everything was a little more forced, no doubt [qu’il y avait] a little more pressure. When you find solutions deep within yourself to seek victory, there is nothing better,” Jérémy Chardy’s protégé slips into a smile.
In the first set, the two players take turns dispersing their commitment. After 1 hour 13 minutes of messy exchanges, Khachanov finally snatched the decisive game. Humbert had almost folded the affair (5-2) before almost literally collapsing. After a week of brilliance and a riot of emotional energy, fatigue (28 unforced errors in all) is logically felt.
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“I’m giving it my all and we’ll see”
The day before, he recounted an exchange with his psychologist following his prestigious victory against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. “She told me: “Fatigue is like a cloud, it passes.” I’m making the most of it, I’m not paying attention to fatigue, I’m giving everything I have and we’ll see. » The last survivor of the French camp doesn’t have much left in the tank but the valiant Humbert hangs on and returns to a set everywhere after having broken his eldest (28 years old) in the middle of the second set.
In the third round, it was up to the Russian to bear the brunt physically: he called the physiotherapist at 3-2 to have his right thigh massaged. Back on the court, he grimaces with each move, crippled with cramps. On the other side, Humbert continues to raise his fist after each point and « abuse » – as he says himself – with his left-handed slice serve to take his opponent off the court.
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