Tennis courts are no strangers to high-stakes drama, and the recent Paris Masters delivered just that! French favorite Ugo Humbert, typically a picture of calm on the court, found himself in the middle of an intense clash with Russian powerhouse Karen Khachanov. What started as an in-game altercation quickly ignited a fiery feud that’s now spilling over beyond the baseline. It didn’t stop there! Just when fans thought things might cool down, Humbert dropped a sharp dig off-court, showing that he’s not backing down.

The Frenchman engaged in an interview with L’EQUIPE and deliberated on certain crucial factors about his career and the controversies he is witnessing. When quizzed about his latest feud with Khachanov, Humbert explained his stance in detail and revealed that despite apologizing for his gestures, he received cold responses from the Russian star player. 

Speaking in the interview, Humbert said, “I didn’t understand what had happened at all. During the match, I was completely overwhelmed and I didn’t see that Karen was injured, nothing obvious happened. For me, it was cramps, we had been playing for two and a half hours and I was also exhausted.” Continuing further, he shared that he received mean messages despite apologizing to the French player.

“I had matches against players who were worn out where I was a little too nice. In no way did I want to disrespect him. I sent him a message to apologize. Afterwards, I was surprised to see the meanness of the messages I received,” Humbert said further in his latest interview. For the unversed, the entire controversy began over Humbert’s celebration against Khachanov after defeating him in the semi-finals of the tournament. With the match tied at 1 set each, the final set began in an equally thrilling fashion.

 However, Khachanov soon opted for a medical timeout and received treatment on his thigh. Despite returning to action soon, he was barely able to move his legs and failed to gain control over the match. But his struggles did not reduce Humbert’s enthusiastic celebrations who made it more intense after winning the match, which seemingly angered the Russian star. He confronted his opponent while shaking hands and later revealed the discussion. 

Talking to Ziggo Sport after the match, the Russian player said, “I told him at the net to show more respect. He has no idea how to behave. I’m always about fair play. I will congratulate him if he behaves like a normal person.” But now, Humbert claimed that despite apologizing to the player, he did not respond aptly. 

Earlier, Humbert took to his social media to apologize to his colleague and expressed his take on the entire matter. “I wanted to say a few words following the controversy after my semi-final against Karen. After the physio’s intervention, I thought it was cramp. 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 apologize, I have great respect for Karen and for all the opponents I’ve had to meet so far.” And it’s not just Karen Khachanov who took heated jibes at Humbert, as the French player also faced some veiled attacks from Kazhak star Alexander Bublik.

When Alexander Bublik mocked Ugo Humbert amid his latest controversy

Ugo Humbert depicted immense talent at the Paris Masters. He defeated several top-ranked players, including Carlos Alcaraz to reach the finals of the tournament and became the first Frenchman to do so since 2011. But soon after his defeat against Alexander Zverev in the finals in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, Bublik took to social media to take a veiled jibe at the player. 

On a video that surfaced on Instagram showing Humbert pumping himself up ahead of his final match, Bublik commented taking a dig at his loud celebrations against Karen Khachanov. Commenting on the post, Bublik wrote, “Not so loud today lol,” which was seen as an addition to the ongoing controversy over his celebrations. 

But with Humbert making a new claim now, it would be interesting to see if Khachanov will come out yet again to slam the player for his actions against him. Will the controversy die down anytime soon? Well, only time will tell.