Humbert withdraws from Rome, the slaughter continues!

What's happened to the ATP circuit since Madrid? With the French Open fast approaching, the Italian tournament has suffered another major withdrawal. After the withdrawals of Murray, Berrettini, Wawrinka, Lehecka, Sinner and Alcaraz, among others, it's now the turn of the French No. 1 to throw in the towel. With a knee injury, Ugo Humbert has decided to skip Rome in order to prepare for the French Open. After an excellent start to the season, in which he won two titles (Marseille and Dubai), the world number 15 hasn't really shone since Monte-Carlo (quarter-finalist, beaten by Ruud).

Perhaps the Frenchman is paying for his frantic string of matches since the end of 2023, at least that's what his coach, Jérémy Chardy, seems to think: "Ugo's knee hurts, and it's probably due to the string of matches he's been playing since the start of the year. There's no reason to take any risks for Rome. The idea, with his good results in 2024, is to be consistent all year round. I hope he'll be able to play in Lyon. He may not be in top form, but it would be good to play some matches before Roland-Garros, which remains the main objective." (comments relayed by L'Equipe).

In any case, the Messinois player has been replaced in the final draw by Shang (105th in the world, beaten by Zizou Bergs in the 2nd qualifying round). We can only hope that this will be the last withdrawal in Rome.