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Andre Agassi's former coach Brad Gilbert has critized Ugo Humbert for his late grunts during his return shots. Gilbert feels the act is a "hindrance" to the player's opponents.
Humbert commenced his 2023 French Open campaign on Sunday (May 28) when he squared off against Adrian Mannarino in the opening round. He cruised past fellow countryman 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, marking his first ever win at Roland Garros after four failed attempts.
However, Humbert's breakthrough win was marred by criticism from Gilbert who found the Frenchman's late grunts as a hindrance.
"Ego [Ugo Humbert] is very close to hindrance sometimes, how late to grunt he is after he makes contact of ball," his tweet read.
Gilbert also opined that a potential second-round match-up between Ugo Humbert and Ben Shelton would be interesting, given the conditions at Roland Garros.
"Interesting matchup. Gimme Shelton vs vs Ego quicker conditions and breezy atm," Gilbert opined.
However, Shelton's first-round loss to Lorenzo Sonego means that the latter will face Humbert next.
The Frenchman, meanwhile, expressed delight following his milestone victory. During an on-court interview, Humbert stated that the win over Mannarino was "really special."
"It’s really special. I've been trying for four to five years, and I've never managed to actually relax on court here until I was very first on centre court, on Philippe-Chatrier Court," he said. "I had a wonderful time, and I'm really satisfied with my first match."
He also credited his coach Jeremy Chardy for helping him adjust to the conditions on clay.
"He [Chardy] told me, ‘All right, well, trust me. You are going to try to play differently, even if you're not going to succeed at the beginning,’" he explained.
"That's what I did in Cagliari, it implied some questions about my game and how to adjust it to play on clay and to protect yourself on clay. It's crucial.
"I’m really enjoying it out there. Now it's the surface on which I've won the most points, so I'm really glad."
A look at Ugo Humbert's head-to-head record with French Open 2R opponent Lorenzo Sonego
Ugo Humbert will square off against Lorenzo Sonego in the second round of the 2023 French Open on Wednesday, May 31. This will be their third meeting on the tour, with their head-to-head tied at 1-1.
The duo's first meeting saw Humbert prevail 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the 2021 Rogers Cup. However, Sonego leveled the scores this year with a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 comeback win at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
