Paris Masters: Best Atmosphere Of The Year For French Players

Ugo Humbert
Ugo Humbert (photo: ATP Tour video)

PARIS/WASHINGTON, October 28, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)

As the Rolex Paris Masters begins its 39th and final edition in Bercy, along the right bank of the Seine before it moves to La Defense in 2025, there’s a distinctive French feel to the atmosphere surrounding Court Central. Call it patriotic, if you will, thanks to the abundance of French players competing in the 12th arrondissement this week. France comprises the biggest contingent in the 56-player singles draw — eight — along an octet of Italian players headlined by World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

On Monday, four Frenchmen were showcased on the largest court at Accor Arena — and in front of plenty of enthusiastic, vocal French fans, too.

No. 15 seed Ugo Humbert, the first Frenchman seeded at this event since Gaël Monfils in 2021 (who was seeded No. 15 in 2021), was featured in the third afternoon match on Court Central. The World No. 18 Humbert’s two-hour, four-minute three-set win over No. 35 Brandon Nakashima of the United States gave fans plenty to stand and cheer about. He played his best in the peak moments — full of adrenaline — and played off the crowd’s support.

“I really love to play here,” Humbert told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj after his win. “For me, it’s the best atmosphere of the year. For sure.”

Other Frenchmen in action on Opening Day were: No. 60 Arthur Rinderknech, who won by retirement over No. 25 Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, 6-7 (3), 5-3, after the Czech star injured his right Achilles; 90th-ranked qualifier Quentin Halys, who lost to No. 29 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, 7-6 (5), 6-3; and 58th-ranked wild card Adrian Mannarino, upset No. 11 seed Tommy Paul of the United States, 6-3, 7-5, in the final match Monday evening.

Among other French players appearing in Bercy this week are: 20-year-old #NextGenATP star Arthur Fils, who is No. 1 in the PIF ATP Live Race to Jeddah, and 21-year-old wild card Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who arrives on a five-match winning streak after garnering the biggest title of his career at the Swiss Open in Basel Sunday.

Fils, who made his ATP Tour main draw debut in Bercy two years ago, will face former World No. 3 Marin Cilic of Croatia in the first round, while Mpetshi Perricard will play No. 14 seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States. Both matches are booked on Court Central Tuesday afternoon.

Finally, there’s mercurial 70th-ranked qualifier Corentin Moutet, and 38-year-old wild card Richard Gasquet, who is making his 17th appearance in Paris, tied for most with Novak Djokovic. Recently, Gasquet, a 2007 semifinalist and the oldest player in the draw, announced his plans to retire after Roland-Garros next year.

Moutet begins against Basel finalist Ben Shelton of the United States, ranked 19th, in the fourth match on Court 1 Tuesday, while Gasquet opens against 65th-ranked lucky loser Zizou Bergs of Belgium Tuesday afternoon as part of a triple-header on Court Central featuring French players. The 133rd-ranked Gasquet holds the record for most wins (605) among Frenchmen in the Open Era.

In his pre-tournament news conference Sunday, Humbert was asked by a reporter exactly what does Bercy mean to him.

“So, if there was really one tournament I wanted to win [it] was Metz,” he said, translated from French, “but now strike off Metz, [it] is done.” Humbert won last year’s ATP 250 Moselle Open in Metz, his hometown. “Now, it’s Bercy, because I saw the best win here, like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the same thing. He won when I was young.

“It’s a very specific tournament. It’s the best atmosphere all year long, because the French crowd is really hot. And the fact that it’s indoors, you know… When I played [Alexander] Zverev last year, it was the best experience I had on the court in terms of atmosphere. It was amazing.”

Like many, Humbert said he will miss playing the Paris Masters in Bercy. “I’m a bit sad that it’s the last one,” he admitted, “but I’ll try to enjoy every moment so as to have a beautiful week here.”

The French No. 1 Humbert entered his first-round match with Nakashima riding high on an eight-match winning streak on French indoor hard courts, after picking up titles in hometown Metz in November 2023 and at Marseille in February. After pulling out a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory — his third straight against Nakashima — he improved to 8-1 versus Americans since October 2023, losing only to then-No. 17 Paul in the third round at Indian Wells in March.

“I want to win my first match,” the 26-year-old Humbert said. “I’m playing a good player who’s made a lot of progress. He’s got a good serve. We’ve played twice together already. I want to focus on this first match. I know it won’t be easy.”

Indeed, it was anything but routine. At a set apiece, Humbert saved two break points to pull out the eighth game of the final set, which leveled the score at 4-all. He served his eighth ace and won the game by slamming a forehand return for a winner. The partisan French fans exploded with applause for Humbert as the match approached the two-hour plateau and he felt energized as well.

Then, as if for an encore, Humbert hit four straight mesmerizing  returns and broke Nakashima to surge ahead 5-4, with the match riding on his racquet. Soon, Humbert gained a match point with his ninth ace, then won the first-round tussle by hitting an overhead forehand winner on the ninth shot of the rally.

Humbert, who rode a wave of emotion to triumph, celebrated by pumping his fist several times for emphasis. Then, after he shook hands with Nakashima, Humbert returned to the court and soaked in the thunderous applause from the French fans.

“I went for it, and the audience was behind me,” Humbert said in press after the match. “So I’m really happy. …

“You know, these matches are very narrow. I love these kind of matches. I love to win them. When I’m not perfect, I don’t play my best tennis, but I’m playing well and it’s easy. So I managed to win, even though I wasn’t maybe playing top.”

Humbert, who improved to 35-23 this season with his latest victory, put matters in perspective. “There is no limit. I don’t ask myself any questions about that,” he said. “If I play well, I can win a few matches. We’ll see.”

Next for Humbert, as he chases his third title of the season, will be a second-round match against No. 49 Marcos Giron on Wednesday. The American garnered a double tie-break win over No. 51 Shang Juncheng of China, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6).

Tsitsipas records 100th career ATP Masters 1000 win

World No. 11 and 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas earned his 100th career ATP Masters 1000 match win with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over 54th-ranked lucky loser Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in an hour and 59 minutes on Court Central Monday evening.

The 26-year-old Greek star, who has reached the Paris semifinals each of the past two years, won his 43rd match of the season in back of 11 aces and 32 overall winners. He outpointed his opponent 81-77.

“I didn’t start so well. I had an upset stomach and wasn’t feeling so great on the court,” Tsitsipas said, quoted by the ATP Tour website. “I couldn’t even pump myself up at the beginning of the match, because when something is bothering you that much, it takes your entire concentration and focus. That was perhaps the second battle I was facing today, along with my opponent.”

Tsitisipas, who began the day No. 12 on the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, needed to win in order to stay in contention for his sixth consecutive Nitto ATP Finals appearance.

Around the Rolex Paris Masters

Among Monday’s first-round singles winners were: No. 22 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, who rallied to defeat No. 34 Nuno Borges of Portugal, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3; No. 28 Jordan Thompson, who defeated No. 41 Pedro Martinez of Spain, 6-4, 6-4; No. 33 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, who eliminated 79th-ranked qualifier Fabio Fognini of Italy, 7-5, 7-5; No. 37 Nicolas Jarry of Chile, who won over 52nd-ranked qualifier Lorenzo Sonego of Italy, 7-6 (4), 6-3; No. 39 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 43 Luciano Darderi of Italy; No. 40 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, who beat No. 47 Zhang Zhizhen of China, 6-3, 7-6 (6); and 55th-ranked lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, who upset No. 26 Sebastian Baez of Argentina, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 7-5.

Croatia’s Ivan Dodig and Marin Cilic as well as French wild cards Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul and the team of Marcelo Melo of Brazil and Alexander Zverev of Germany advanced as the first round of the 24-team doubles draw began.

Monday’s Rolex Paris Masters results

Tuesday’s Rolex Paris Masters order of play

By the numbers

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy leads the ATP Tour in wins (65) and titles (7) this season and begins play in Paris this week on a 10-match winning streak in ATP Masters 1000 events, after winning titles in Cincinnati and Shanghai.

Sinner aims to become just the third player to win three consecutive ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in series history after Novak Djokovic (5 times) and Rafael Nadal (2 times) and the first player to win four titles in a single season since Djokovic in 2016.

“Quotable …”

“No, it doesn’t change anything. I could be in the top 20, top 50, top 15, it doesn’t change anything. I have the same mindset.

“This tournament is a huge tournament. I’m delighted to be here. I’m trying to play in Paris as I would be in Tokyo. I feel no pressure, nothing different.”

— World No. 20 and French No. 2 Arthur Fils, during his pre-tournament news conference Sunday, on whether being a Top-20 player and recent ATP 500 title winner changes his mindset.

 

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