Ugo Humbert called out Paris Masters bosses for snubbing him from the Court Central schedule.
The top-ranked Frenchman was relegated to Court 1 for his second-round Paris Masters match while some of his lower-ranked compatriots got to compete on the main stage.
Afterwards, Humbert said he “deserved better” and demanded to be upgraded to the centre court for his next match.
French tennis is in a healthy position coming into this year’s Paris Masters. Twelve months ago, only one French player won a match in the main draw.
But plenty of new stars have emerged this season and Humbert was one of six Frenchmen to make it to round two. However, it caused a problem with scheduling as tournament bosses didn’t have enough sessions on Court Central to fit all the home players.
It meant some had to be relegated to the smaller courts and Humbert was one of them, despite being ranked the highest at No. 18 in the world.
And the usually mild-mannered 26-year-old made his feelings clear after beating Marcos Giron on Court 1, going on a rant about the order of play. “It was a very good match on my side. The court was smaller. It was faster,” Humbert said after getting the job done in 59 minutes.
Reporters quickly picked up on his subtle dig about the court and asked what he felt about being place on Court 1 instead of Centrale. And Humbert didn’t hold back.
“I was disappointed, because I think I deserved better. I’m No. 1 French player, and I have practiced on the centre court,” he replied.
“It’s my favourite tournament. I was disappointed that I was not on the centre court. But I have deserved to play for the third round.”
Humbert will now face world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16 and he’s expecting their high-profile showdown will get top billing. He continued: I’m someone who is very nice. But, you know, sometimes it is used against me.
“I’m delighted to have won this match, to have deserved playing on the centre court against Alcaraz.”
Only two Court Centrale matches on Wednesday’s schedule didn’t feature French players – Alexei Popyrin vs Daniil Medvedev and the night session clash between Alexander Zverev and Tallon Griekspoor.
French No. 2 Arthur Fils, wildcard Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and lucky loser Arthur Cazaux were all given centre court showings.
Humbert was the only French player featured on Court 1 while both Arthur Rinderknech and Adrian Mannarino played on the smallest Court 2. Although six-time title winner Humbert thought he deserved to play on Court Centrale, he was still happy to see the success of his compatriots.
“It’s amazing. It’s great for French tennis. There are a lot of French players playing well here for. For the public also it’s important, and I can say that it’s just positive things,” he said.
“I’m not surprised. We have wonderful French players, so I’m not surprised to see so many French players for the third round.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk