In Tatabanya, the encouragement of the Hungarian public was not enough.
Humbert (86th player in the world) won without shaking (6-3, 6-3) against Fabian Marozsan (161st), despite the pressure of a cleaver match.
All in control, the Messin, 24, was very skilful in service (8 aces, 81% of first serves) and accelerated from the baseline at the end of the set to break away.
Humbert was then very aggressive from the resumption by directly offering the service of his opponent, before registering a shutout.
Short of energy, Marozsan was never able to catch up, sealing the defeat for his team.
On the bench, Sébastien Grosjean could exult.
The French captain was inspired by calling up Humbert as the 5th man earlier this week, following his encouraging 3rd round loss at the Australian Open to ninth-placed Holger Rune.
Friday, the protege of Jérémy Chardy had, for his first selection in the France team, swept 6-3 6-2 the best Hungarian player Marton Fucsovics (71st), thanks to an offensive and varied tennis.
With the exception of Humbert and Adrian Mannarino, who replaced Benjamin Bonzi on Saturday at the last minute and beat Fucsovics 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, the Blues paled in Hungary.
Sébastien Grosjean on February 3, 2023 in Tatabanya © Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP
Before the two singles, the Nicolas Mahut / Arthur Rinderknech pair lost in two sets 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), putting the French team back against the wall.
The day before, the French No. 1 Benjamin Bonzi (58th) had been defeated by Zsombor Piros (182nd).
Despite everything, with this victory in the best of 5 matches, the Blues have validated their ticket for the group stage of the Davis Cup which will take place from September 12 to 17.
The final phase of the competition - an eight-team elimination table - will take place over a week in November in Malaga (Spain).
© 2023 AFP