Germany's Alexander Zverev issued an apology to the French crowd after delivering a dominant performance to defeat hometown favorite Ugo Humbert and clinch the Paris Masters title.
Zverev needed only 75 minutes to secure a seventh ATP Masters 1000 title courtesy of a 6-2 6-2 victory, the 27-year-old dropping just five points on his serve.
It was a clinical display from the German, who has been the outstanding player in Paris all week amid a tournament that has been hit by withdrawals and defeats for star names.
Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic opted against playing in the tournament, world No 1 Jannik Sinner was forced to pull out with a virus and Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock exit at the hands of Hubert.
The French fans had arrived in Paris on Sunday hopeful of seeing a first homegrown champion since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008, but Zverev ended the dream.
"First of all, sorry," said Zverev with a smile as he addressed the crowd.
"I want to congratulate Ugo on an incredible week. Incredible player. All the hard work he's doing off court, you can see it. The results are there.
"I told you at the net that if you keep playing like this, this isn't the last chance you're gonna get. I'm sure he'll be able to lift trophies like this very soon.
"I knew I had to play like this to win today. Ugo is an incredible player, but here in Paris he plays even better than he usually does and I knew that.
"Once the crowd gets involved, it's going to be difficult so, I had to take that away early and I did, so I'm happy about that."
He went on to thank his team after reflecting on the serious ankle injury her suffered in Paris at the French Open back in 2022.
"The work we've done over the past two and a half years to be back in this position, everyone had to sacrifice so much," he added.
"To be able to play on these beautiful courts again, there was never a hundred per cent guarantee that I'd be back at this level after Roland Garros two years ago when I basically broke everything in my ankle that's possible.
"To win the title here in Paris means the world to me but I'm sure it also means the world to everybody sitting in my box. They've done so much to help me lift this title."
His run in Paris will see Zverev match his career-high ranking of No 2 when the updated list is released on Monday, but he accepts the 'Big 2' of Alcaraz and Sinner are a step ahead of him after they shared the four Grand Slam between them this year.
"For me, it's about improving a few things," said Zverev.
"I feel like, you know, Jannik and Carlos, you know, they are doing a few things better than me at the moment. I want to improve.
"I think in tennis you always have to improve. If you're standing still, you're going to go backwards because the other players are also improving.
"I feel like they are so aggressive. I think tennis is going towards that direction."
