The Messin, who will face Lorenzo Sonego on Tuesday in the first round, is the only tricolor to have pulled out of qualifying on Sunday. To his surprise.
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Romain Schneider
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In Monte Carlo,
« Last year I won three matches on clay, here I have already won two (with the 1is qualifying round against Lucas Catarina), it is enormous“, released the microphones with a broad smile the Messin at the end of his victory in three sets against Dujan Lajovic 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. A great performance because the Serb, finalist in Monte-Carlo four years ago, is a surface specialist. Not the Frenchman, who has become accustomed to shining on hard and grass. Clay is not his cup of tea. Sweet understatement. “Land is a challenge every year. I learned to play on carpet and with my backhand flat, it was never my favorite surface. With my trainer (Jérémy Chardy), I try to wrap my forehand a bit. I cling to the fact that I want to go back to the top 50. Grass comes after the clay season and it suits me better and I will try to get the ranking to try to enter the big tournaments. It is the objective. So this season on earth is a real challenge. » And the former 25e world, fallen to 79th must force its nature on this often hostile ground. “I don’t have too many benchmarks, I feel a bit lost on the court. I take my head too much. And yet, oddly, there are times when I take pleasure. Today I loved for a set and a half. But there are times when I can’t do it anymore and I don’t understand why. I ask a lot of questions to my coach who tells me “Man, it doesn’t get any simpler. Clay is easy, and when he says that to me, it doesn’t speak to me too much (laughs)”.
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The Messin has a smile. He surprised himself. Especially since he approached the tournament quite diminished: “ In Miami, I didn’t feel 100% after my early season glitches. We had had a good week of preparation and I had the Covid when I left for Marrakech… Yesterday (SATURDAY), I had no juice, I was dizzy in the morning. Today (this Sunday), I still didn’t feel 100%. But frankly, I’m super happy with my game. It’s incredible. It’s a great victory against a good grounder.»
Led a set, a break, Humbert was able to return the match. “The first set, I was too far from my line. On the other hand, I didn’t hurt him. As soon as I started getting closer to my line, being more aggressive with my forehand, I felt like I was bugging him. When my back was against the wall, I said to myself: ‘‘Go ahead ! Play your game. As soon as you have a good ball, try to hurt him. Don’t try to play the dirt game. And against the god of the surface, Rafael Nadal, the 24-year-old trained last year. An experience, which he still remembers with a smile: “ I made the set of my life, and I took 6-2! And again, I made two games serving very well! »