French tennis player Benoit Paire is set to be fined for a series of controversial antics he displayed during his second round loss at the Argentina Open on Thursday.
The world No.29 suffered a shock 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, loss to local player Francisco Cerundolo who is ranked more than 100 places lower than him. However, it was the behaviour of Paire which has landed him in hot water as he clashed with the match umpire.
Paire first erupted three games into the second set when a Cerundolo serve down the centre of the court was called in by the umpire. However, he protested at the ball marking left on the clay court wasn’t touching the line. Something the match official didn’t agree with. A bemused Paire then received a code violation for misconduct after spitting on the marking after the debate.
After losing his lead in the match, the 31-year-old then seemingly tanked his final game in the match. Hitting two double faults with one of his service motions taking place while a ball kid was still on the court.
Whilst it is clear that Paire lost his cool in Buenos Aires, he created further controversy after the match when he tweeted “In the end it’s worth it to suck.” Below the comment was a screenshot of his career earnings which is $8.5 million. Seemingly indicating that he is not bothered by the prospect of a fine due to the money he has earned.
“He is a very talented player, and I had to be focused, I knew that at some point I was going to have the opportunity and I am happy to be able to take advantage of it,” Cerundolo said of his match with Paire.
“He had to serve hard, because he hit him from all sides, he had to make him run, not let him take the initiative. I also knew that he is characterized by talking, insulting and doing those things, so I had to concentrate and stay in my game.”
Paire, who has been ranked as high as 18th in the world, is no stranger to controversy. In the past he was sent home from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games for breaking rules and once said he ‘hated’ Wimbledon following a loss in 2014. More recently this year he slammed the Australian Open over their quarantine measures and described the tournament as ‘really crap.”
There has been no official statement so far from the ATP concerning Paire’s latest incident.
Meanwhile, Cerundolo will face Spanish sixth seeded Pablo Andujar in the quarter-finals on Friday.
