Ugo Humbert pens strong message after Paris Masters rival tells him to 'show more respect'

Ugo Humbert has sent a grovelling apology to his opponent Karen Khachanov after their controversial clash turned ugly at the Paris Masters. after confronting the Frenchman when they shook hands after their Paris Masters semi-final.

The 2018 champion was carrying an injury in the final set and hurt himself again in the last game, giving Humbert a match point.

But Khachanov was left feeling irritated when his opponent celebrated while he was clearly struggling with his fitness, claiming the world No. 18 had "no idea how to behave".

Khachanov went on to lose in the final set after having treatment from the physio. After Humbert's victory was confirmed, the Russian let him know in no uncertain terms how he felt when they approached the net.

Humbert has now responded by explaining the misunderstanding between the two players and revealed he had personally apologised to Khachanov.

"I wanted to say a few words following the controversy after my semi-final against Karen," Humbert wrote on Instagram.

"After the physio's intervention, I thought it was cramp, as I was almost 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 apologize. 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. Thank you to everyone who has supported me this week. From every point of view, this tournament taught me a lot. I'd also like to say a few words about my disappointment for not being able to defend my title in Metz, where I'll be spending some time this week."

Humbert's tournament finished on a disappointing note after making it into the Paris Masters final at Khachanov's expense. The 28-year-old was always likely to be the underdog against the world No.2 Alexander Zverev.

The German star, who reached the final of the French Open this year, breezed to a 6-2, 6-2 success at the Accor Arena in Paris to claim his second ATP 1000 title this year.

As for Humbert, who saw his clash against Hugo Gaston at the Moselle Open cancelled due to his participation in the final, he will return to his hometown of Metz for some downtime after finishing the year ranked 14th in the ATP Tour.