"I'm sorry to see that this has been misunderstood": Ugo Humbert apologises to Karen Khachanov for Paris Masters incident

France’s Ugo Humbert has apologised to Russia’s Karen Khachanov regarding an incident during the Paris Masters clash. Both players faced off in the semifinal of the recently concluded ATP 1000 event where the 26-year-old came out on top with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.

During the second set, Khachanov looked uncomfortable and was looked by his physio as well. It turned out he was not 100% as he went on to lose the last set and subsequently the match as well. When the two players met for the handshake after the match, Khachanov told his opponent that he must learn to ‘show more respect’ to his opponents during the matches, especially when the are struggling with a fitness concerns.

Humbert, who went on to lose the final to world number two Germany’s Alexander Zverev in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, penned down an apology to Khachanov. The Metz-born star, in a detailed post on his social media platform Instagram, stated that he thought his was struggling with a cramp. Humbert also went on to mentioned that he totally understand how it feels as he faced similar positions in his career as well.

“I wanted to say a few words following the controversy after my semi-final against Karen," he wrote. "After the physio's intervention, I thought it was cramp, as I was almost cramping myself after two and a half hours of intense play. I've lost other matches this year in similar circumstances and this time I remained very focused on the goal. I'm sorry to see that this has been misunderstood and even worse, described as a lack of fair play. I have contacted him personally to apologize. I have great respect for Karen and for all the opponents I've had to meet so far. This will serve as a lesson to me to act better in the future. Thank you to everyone who has supported me this week. From every point of view, this tournament taught me a lot. I'd also like to say a few words about my disappointment for not being able to defend my title in Metz, where I'll be spending some time this week.”