France’s Benoit Paire has come under fire for his controversial behaviour during and after his loss to Tommy Haas at the Monte Carlo Open.
The animated 27-year-old produced a costly 34 unforced errors during his 6-2, 6-3, defeat to a player ranked 600 places lower than him. Throughout the match, the Frenchman struggled to contain his emotions as he was heard on camera making negative comments about his opponent.
“He’s useless. Honestly, I’m extra-awful. … I just have to play TWO seconds and I think I win 6-2, 6-2 … Useless, completely useless.” Paire moaned in French during one of his changeovers.
Addressing the media following his match, Paire continued to spark controversy. Asked about playing the 39-year-old German, the world No.40 said that age wasn’t the issue. In fact, Paire stated that he would of lost to a 70-year-old due to his performance.
‘Today age didn’t matter. Even against a player of 70 years I would have lost today because I wasn’t able to play at all.’ He said.
Haas, who is now semi-retired from the sport, is playing his final season on the tour. The former world No.2 recently defeated Reilly Opelka to reach the second round at the Houston Open, grabbing his first tour victory since Wimbledon 2015. This year is his first appearance in Monte Carlo since 2008.
Paire’s roller coaster emotions are illustrated in his results. This season he has reached three semifinals on the tour alongside five first round exits. Last year he broke the top-20 for the first time in his career.
Responding to Paire’s recent outburst was Haas’ wife Sara Foster. Taking to Twitter after hearing about the comments, the American actress called him as a ‘tool.’
Tommy had pneumonia when he played this tool in Australia.Did he mention that in the press conference?No he didn’t. https://t.co/v1Y59CFMGc
— Sara Foster (@saramfoster) 18 April 2017
Another controversy involving Paire
Tuesday’s controversy is the latest of a series in the roller-coaster career of Paire. He gained notoriety in 2014 for saying that he ‘hates’ the Wimbledon championships shortly after his loss in 2014. Then in 2016 he was suspended from the French Tennis Federation for his behaviour during the Olympic Games. He was kicked out of the Rio Games for ‘flouting the rules.’
Last week, Paire engaged in a heated argument with an umpire. Playing Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Marrakech Open, he was outraged after one of his shots was called out. After an unsuccessful appeal, he fired two consecutive balls out of the court.
Despite his fragile mentality, Paire does have the ability to play among the best in the world. So far in his career, he has defeated top-10 players Juan Martin del Potro, Stan Wawrinka (twice) and Kei Nishikori (twice).
