In Bercy, for the last of the lasts (sniff),
Cold logic was respected. We could tell you that we fell in love on Sunday when we saw Alexander Zverev methodically dismember poor Ugo Humbert in the final at Bercy, but the truth is that there was little chance of that happening. otherwise. Rinsed by his obstacle course, after three matches played in three sets and a lot of energy (and emotions) left on the way, particularly after his XXL exploit against Alcaraz in the 8th, Messin never seemed able to worry the world number 3.
However, he is not the last when it comes to tickling the soles of the feet of what is best on the tennis planet, he who before this match displayed a nice ratio of 50% career victories against members of the top 10, but to even manage to worry a machine like Zverev, it would have been necessary to make him doubt from the outset, get into his head and let the Bercy public do the rest. “I knew that if the public pushed him, it was going to be hard, so we had to take control very early to avoid that,” explained the German after his quick victory, in less than an hour and fifteen minutes of play.
The pump that does not forgive
Crossed in the corridors of Bercy, Guy Forget, winner here in 1991, explained this difference in level from a physical point of view: “we saw a huge Zverev today. However, to beat a player of this level in the final, you have to be at your best. If you don't have a full tank, it's very difficult and that wasn't the case for Ugo. » We would have had to walk on water like during the first set against Alcaraz to hope to make Zverev think. But if the theory of physical pumping is real, it is not only on that that this final was decided. All smiles at the press conference after his first Masters 1000 final, Humbert did not hide his face.
“I have no regrets, he was stronger than me in all areas. Physically I had difficulty recovering from my match against Kachanov. When I woke up this morning, it wasn't easy. In the head too it responded less today, he admitted. On serve he was monstrous in the first and he didn't give me anything in the second, whereas usually he can give up a little. And on the forehand side, he didn't give me anything there either. In fact, I feel like the first point he gave me was on the last play.”
“He was very stressed”
According to his partner, the French player Tessah Andrianjafitrimo (307th in the world), Humbert paid in the final for his fantastic Parisian run this whole week: “between yesterday's match, the week, the efforts, the fact of playing his first Masters final 1000, I think that physically, nervously, emotionally, even if the head wants to, at some point the body has trouble keeping up. He was very stressed but he wanted to give everything, that's the main thing. »
To compete with a thug like Sascha Zverev, there is still a long way to go, but this week will have allowed him to confirm two or three things. The main thing being that when he plays with this level of confidence and when he agrees to take risks, when he decides to attack his opponent from the start of the match, then Humbert can, on a good day, look pretty much everyone in the depths of their eyes.
“I'm not surprised to see myself at this level, to have beaten Alcaraz and to have been in the final of a Masters 1000. I do things well, I work properly,” he said. he nodded. Where he will still have to work is precisely in the moments when he is a little less well physically and/or mentally. This is what Nicolas Mahut judged at the microphone of Eurosport after the match: “when he is good, he can have an extraordinary level of play but when he is a little less good, it is a little harder to put in place places his flamboyant attacking game, he will have to improve at this level. »
The top 10 in sight
According to all those who surround him or come across him on a daily basis on the circuit, this should not take long to happen. Zverev himself agreed, on Sunday, microphone in hand, addressing his victim of the day directly: “all the work you do outside the courts pays off. I told you at the net earlier, if you continue like this, I'm sure you will win tournaments like this. »
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This is also the opinion of Guy Forget, who predicts a next season full of success for the boy with bowed legs and a jersey tucked neatly into his shorts. “I love Ugo, I love his game and I am very optimistic for the future,” he told us. This defeat is only a step in what will happen in the coming months. There is this famous phrase which says: ''I never lose, I either win or I learn'', well, that corresponds perfectly to Ugo's situation today. He is young, he is well surrounded with Jérémy (Chardy, his coach) and all his staff. I'm sure he will show us great things in the years to come. »
And if this tournament can serve as a trigger for him, at 26 years old, he who will reach the best ranking of his career on Monday (14th), then he will not have lost everything, quite the contrary. Can we even go so far as to say that this performance in Paris will allow him to take a step forward and aim for a strong place in the top 10? Although she is not the most objective, Tessah Andrianjafitrimo has her own idea on the matter: “yes, absolutely, this is only the beginning! »
