“Like a Davis Cup atmosphere”: like Yannick Grumet, the Bercy public ignited one last time on Sunday at the Masters 1000 in Paris behind the No.1 Ugo Humbert, a celebration brutally cut short by the express victory of the German Alexander Zverev.
“I always liked this room”tells AFP this manager of a clothing store who came to attend with his family the very last match in the hall in eastern Paris before the tournament moves to Nanterre scheduled for 2025.
“It’s a bit of a Davis Cup atmosphere, the public is close to the player”he appreciates. The staging, the sound, the light add value to the poster,” he continues, a packet of popcorn on his lap.
Because Bercy is above all a spectacle, both on the court and in the room.
Before the start of the final, the spectators are plunged into darkness, for a final signature entrance show of the Parisian tournament. A few dozen meters above the court, on a giant screen, the best moments of this last week at Bercy, after nearly 40 years of shared history between the hall and the tournament, parade.
Suddenly, the music sounds louder and the audience stands up to give Humbert a standing ovation as he enters the court. The N.1 tricolor emerges from the multicolored tunnel a few moments before Zverev.
The Bercy room on November 4, 2004 / Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP
“We wanted this edition to be a celebration and I think that’s the case”says tournament director Cédric Pioline. “In relation not only to the painting and the way in which it evolved”but also from the point of view of “fervor” and of “the craze” that he noticed “all week long, with very attractive matches and full stands”.
“I’m dreading Nanterre”
It must be said that Ugo Humbert, the first French finalist at the Masters 1000 in Paris since Jo-Wilfrid Tsonga, was the ideal player to offer a grand farewell to Bercy.
Drum, tricolor wig, posters bearing the image of the left-handed Metz: in the stands, the members of the “Blue Tribune” wouldn’t have missed the event for anything.
“Humbert is a player who shows his emotions a lot, we have the impression that he is with us”enthuses Arthur Colin, student and regular at the Parisian venue.
At each break, the more than 15,000 spectators raise the sound level by singing songs at the top of their voices. « Ugo »punctuated by drum beats and applause.
But as soon as the game resumes, the silence returns as quickly as it left, the public being stunned by the overwhelming domination of Alexander Zverev.
Despite the countless « Let’s go Ugo, let’s go »the public’s favorite lost sharply (6-2, 6-2) after an hour and a quarter of fighting against the tall German (1.97 m).
Despite the result, “it was cool”savors rugby star Antoine Dupont after the match.
Ugo Humbert in Bercy on November 4, 2024 / JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP
The Toulouse resident rubbed shoulders with a lot of people in the presidential stand, from the former French winner at Bercy Guy Forget to the multi-medalist Olympic swimming medalist Florent Manaudou, including PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
“We came to encourage our little Frenchman”Antoine Dupont told AFP. “It was hard but hey, he had a very good week, we are proud of him all the same,” the Olympic rugby sevens champion congratulates him.
What can we expect from now on as an atmosphere in 2025?
Arthur Anger, tennis fan who came to say goodbye to Bercy on Sunday, “apprehends Nanterre”.
“I’m afraid it will be a little more sanitized. (…). I only knew that (Bercy, Editor’s note). The sound is excellent, the room and the player entrance are great. It’s a beautiful spectacle. I hope there will be the same thing” at La Défense Arena, he concludes.
