“It’s like I’m talking to my best friend,” the Frenchman told us, as he heads to the semi-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters in Bercy, where he will face Karen Khachanov on Saturday.
Ugo Humbert is on a mission at the Rolex Paris Masters. Nothing seems to be able to divert him from this pursuit in Bercy. The Frenchman will play his first Masters 1000 semi-final on Saturday against Russian Karen Khachanov. After a brilliant performance to defeat world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16, Humbert drew even more energy from the French crowd to overcome Australian Jordan Thompson, who had dreams of being the upset maker. Unfortunately for his opponent, the Mosellan never came down from his cloud.
“When you have 15,000 people supporting you, it’s an incredible asset. In the end, I completely transformed, transcended to make incredible shots. It was just fabulous,” Humbert exclaimed after leaving the court. “I went for two winners to finish the match, it was unbelievable.”
Unyielding in the first set, with his attacking style of tennis that leaves opponents gasping, Ugo Humbert once again finished in a trance before the eyes of a delighted Yannick Noah. Fueled by an unwavering faith in his tennis that seems to have inhabited him since the start of the tournament, and with a capacity to control the match regardless of the scenario—even when the script goes awry—Humbert shows little doubt, if any. This impressive state of confidence is also nurtured by making the most of every break on his chair to talk to himself.
“At times, yes, I can let myself go, and I feel it helps me a lot to talk to myself, and I do it out loud because I need to hear it,” he revealed to RMC Sport’s microphone after exiting the court yesterday evening. “I could say it inside me, but it’s also funny for you (laughs).”
“(He resumes his seriousness) It helps me a lot; it’s like I’m talking to my best friend. It’s something I found, that I also felt like this. Yesterday (Thursday) it helped me, today (Friday) again. I will continue like this.”
Against Alcaraz, these little boosts of confidence had allowed him to unleash fabulous shots at key moments of the match. Against Jordan Thompson, Humbert again drew on his resources to emerge unscathed from a tense end of the second set that could have slipped away after he lost two match points and conceded a break that allowed his opponent to draw level. What did he tell himself to avoid collapsing? “To give 100% on every point, to have no regrets, to enjoy every second on the court, to have no regrets. This is the last Bercy for me, I give my all on every ball, on every point.”
It is with this mindset that he will approach the match against Karen Khachanov, a contest that could open the doors to his first Masters 1000 final. The last French winner of the Masters 1000 in Paris Bercy was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008), who is also the last French player to triumph in a tournament of this category. That was in 2014 in Toronto, after an incredible run where the Mans player eliminated Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and then Grigor Dimitrov before defeating Roger Federer in the final. Should he dominate Khachanov, Humbert may have to clash with German Alexander Zverev (No. 3), who has been in great form this week.
