French tennis star
Ugo Humbert was full of praise for the atmosphere
during the ongoing
Paris Masters.
The competition was hit by controversy as Russia’s Daniil
Medvedev showed a middle finger to the spectators sitting in the arena who
booed him after he suffered a defeat to Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the round
of 32 with a score of 6-3, 6-7, 7-6.
Humbert, on the other hand, was full of praise for the local
crowd and stated that it was the ‘best atmosphere’ he played in.
“No, I didn't [show them the middle finger],” he said. “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?”
Medvedev, in his post-match interaction with the media,
admitted that he did have a problem with the crowd.
However, Humbert defended the spectators by stating that he could not imagine that people watching tennis had a problem with an individual for
any reason.
“No, I cannot imagine [that they hated problem with an individual],”
he said. “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.
“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.”
Humbert’s journey in the competition finally came to an
end on Wednesday as he suffered a defeat to Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the
round of 32 with a score of 6-4, 6-7, 7-6.