Ugo Humbert responds after opponent claims he has ‘no idea how to behave’
Ugo Humbert has taken to social media to apologise to Karen Khachanov, who claimed that the Frenchman has ‘no idea how to behave’ after their match last week in Paris.
Humbert beat Karen Khachanov, 6(6)-7 6-4 6-3, to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Paris-Bercy last week.
However, the main story of the match came following a tense handshake between the pair, where Khachanov appeared annoyed with Humbert’s antics during the match.
When speaking to press after the match, Khachanov clarified what he told the French No.1, “I told him at the net to be a little more calm and respectful. (He has) No idea how to behave. I always play fair and I will congratulate him if he behaves like a normal person.”
Khachanov continued to explain that he was not happy with Humbert’s over celebrating, especially as it was clear that he was struggling physically after undergoing some treatment on his leg from a physio.
And now Humbert has had his say, revealing that he has personally contacted Khachanov and explained the ‘misunderstanding’ from his side.
“I wanted to say a few words following the controversy after my semi-final against Karen,” Humbert said on Instagram. “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 apologise. I have great respect for Karen and for all the opponents I’ve had to meet so far.”
Humbert added, “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.”
Following reaching the biggest final of his career, Humbert elected to skip defending his title in Metz and the World No.14 has now likely ended his 2024 season.
Inside the baseline…
It always seemed that this whole issue was a lot bigger in the heat of the moment, with Karen Khachanov understandably upset with the outcome of the match and how he was feeling physically. That being said, it did not seem like Ugo Humbert was trying to purposefully disrespect Khachanov and was using the Parisian crowd to help spur him on throughout his impressive run in Bercy.
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