“I think I deserve better”: Humbert takes aim at Paris Masters organisers after beating Giron in under an hour

Frenchman Ugo Humbert, the No 15 seed, won against American qualifier Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-2 to move into the last 16 of Paris Masters at the Accor Arena on Wednesday.

It was a compelling performance from Humbert, who dispatched Giron in under an hour to book a round-of-16 clash against second seed Carlos Alcaraz.

“It was a very good match on my side,” Humbert said after the match. “The court was smaller. It was faster. I felt that as for the return and the serve, I was very aggressive. I didn’t let him breathe a second. I managed to push on the second set, and I’m delighted to have deserved this victory. I played very well.”

Humbert’s aggressive approach on return saw him win 16 of 19 points on Giron’s second serve, breaking the American four times across the match.

Humbert frustrated at Paris Masters court allocation

The world No 18 shared in his post-match press conference that not getting a spot on the main court was frustrating for him, given his status as the No 1 French player in Paris.

“I was disappointed, because I think I deserved better,” he said.

“I’m [the] No 1 French player, and I have practiced on the center court. It’s my favorite tournament. I was disappointed that I was not on the center court. But I have deserved to play for the third round. 

“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 center court against Alcaraz.”

The Frenchman edged out American Brandon Nakashima (6-3, 4-6, 6-4) ahead of his victory.

In the previous round of the Paris-Bercy tournament, Giron, ranked No 49, beat Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang (7-6 (6), 7-6 (6)).

Paris Masters 1000, other second-round results (Accor Arena, hard, EUR 5.950.575, most recent results first):

• Arthur Cazaux vs. Ben Shelton
• Alexander Zverev vs. Tallon Griekspoor
• Jack Draper vs. Taylor Fritz
• Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Karen Khachanov
• Alex De Minaur vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
• Alexander Bublik vs. Holger Rune
• Arthur Fils vs. Jan-Lennard Struff: wednesday
• Zizou Bergs vs. Adrian Mannarino: wednesday
• Alexei Popyrin beat Daniil Medvedev (4): 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4)
• Arthur Rinderknech (WC) beat Alex Michelsen: 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7)
• Grigor Dimitrov (8) beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry: 6-7 (9), 6-3, 7-5
• Jordan Thompson beat Casper Ruud (7): 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (10) beat Alejandro Tabilo: 6-3, 6-4
• Carlos Alcaraz beat Nicolas Jarry: 7-5, 6-1
• Francisco Cerundolo beat Andrey Rublev (6): 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5)