Ugo Humbert reacts after being told what Ben Shelton said about him which he hadn’t heard

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Ugo Humbert has continued his superb season by reaching the second round of the Paris Masters on home soil.

Humbert overcame Brandon Nakashima in their Paris Masters first-round clash, with the former beating the American 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

The Frenchman has now set up a second-round meeting with another American opponent in Marcos Giron.

Their compatriot Ben Shelton loves watching Carlos Alcaraz, but the former has also been full of praise for Humbert regarding his success on indoor courts, with the duo having played doubles together earlier this year at Queen’s.

Humbert now boasts a superb nine-match winning run on French indoor courts, having previously won titles in Metz and Marseille.

Ugo Humbert reacts to Ben Shelton’s claim about him

The Paris Masters 15th seed won his latest match on the surface in two hours and six minutes, having been pushed all the way by Nakashima.

Humbert was informed in his opening Paris Masters press conference that Shelton labelled him the best indoor player in the world, with the Frenchman reacting: “I hadn’t heard that he would say so.

READ MORE: Paris Masters 2024: How to watch, prize money, dates and everything you need to know

“Well, I learned to play indoors when I was young. I have always played indoors, so this is how I managed to develop qualities that make me a good player on this surface.

“I have also good hits. My serve, I’m a lefty, so I manage to have a lot of diversity on my serve, and I can be very aggressive on this surface. Especially here I see that the surface is very fast.

“With the ball it goes right off, so it suits me very well, but I haven’t won that type of tournament yet. I didn’t hear that he said that. It’s very nice of him.”

Ugo Humbert eyeing third tour-level title of 2024 at Paris Masters

Shelton is, of course, also a fierce server, although he was outshone in that area on Sunday by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Humbert’s compatriot Mpetshi Perricard hit a stunning 22 aces as he overcame Shelton in their Basel Open final.

Ranked 50th going into the event, Mpetshi Perricard became the lowest-ranked Basel Open champion with his success over Shelton.

READ MORE: Ben Shelton thinks Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has already done something that is great for tennis

Their close relationship came to light after the exciting final in Switzerland, with Shelton messaging Mpetshi Perricard on Instagram.

Humbert, who occupies 18th place in the ATP rankings and has two titles this season, will now have his sights set on more indoor hard-court success this week.