“I have contacted him personally”: Humbert apologises to Khachanov for Paris incident
The Frenchman explained he did not realise the extent of Khachanov’s injury at the time
Ugo Humbert, Rolex Paris Masters 2024 | © JB Autissier / Panoramic
Ugo Humbert has issued an apology to Karen Khachanov after the Frenchman was accused of bad sportsmanship following his victory in the Paris Masters semi-finals last week.
Khachanov suffered an injury in the third set, and took issue with Humbert continuing to celebrate and play up to the crowd over the remainder of the match.
At the net, he had words with the world No 18, and after the match, he spoke to media expressing his disapproval.
“I told him at the net to show more respect,” Khachanov said. “He has no idea how to behave.”
While Humbert initially failed to address the comments, saying that he had “no regrets” from his time in Paris, he has now backtracked and confronted the matter.
Humbert explains Khachanov incident
“I wanted to say a few words following the controversy after my semi-final against Karen,” Humbert posted on his Instagram on Tuesday evening.
“After the physio’s intervention, I thought it was cramp, as I was 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. This will serve as a lesson to me to act better in the future.”
Humbert went on to lose in the final of the Paris Masters against Alexander Zverev, with the Frenchman’s next tournament scheduled to be the UTS Grand Final in London, from December 6-8.
