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Inside Tennis
A fifteenth Rolland Garros for Benoit PAIRE?
Avignon resident Benoît Paire will participate in the qualifications of Roland-Garros this Monday, in the hope of securing a place for his 15th participation in the French Grand Slam.
Aged 35, Benoît Paire will try next week to qualify for his 15th consecutive Roland-Garros through qualifying. Since his first participation in 2010, he has no longer needed to go through this preliminary phase. Currently ranked 143rd in the world, his worst ranking since that time, Paire will have to win two matches from Monday to directly enter the main draw of the French Grand Slam. Only a wild card from the tournament, from the Federation, or a leading place in the Race France could have avoided this restrictive stage. Unlike his compatriots Richard Gasquet and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, already assured of playing in the first round of the Paris tournament, Paire will have to fight for his place.
Benoît Paire: A Preparation for Roland-Garros Marked by Challenges
Injured since his round of 16 at the Madrid Challenger at the beginning of April against the Spaniard Oriol Roca Batalla (4-6, 6-3, 4-2 ab.), the Avignon player Benoît Paire recently returned to the clay courts. He participated in the Taden-Dinan Open Guindé, where he was beaten in the final by Thomas Deschamps, ranked 812th in the ATP rankings. His performances in Brittany, notably with the singer “La Petite Culotte”, had more impact on the general public than his results on the court. So, his preparation for Roland-Garros seems far from ideal.
“Today, he has physical problems, he does what he can,” explains Alain Barrere, his former coach between 8 and 18 years old, still very close to him. “He’s not young anymore. His body is pulling all over the place. He wants to do well. Despite appearances, he wanted to prepare properly. But for those who doubt it, he is still largely capable of getting out of qualifying. To achieve this, he will have to face opponents probably better ranked than him.
This year, Benoît Paire managed to win against players close to the Top 100, such as the Serbian Hamad Medjedovic, present at the Aix-en-Provence Crédit Agricole Open at the beginning of May, or Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard, one of the rising stars of French tennis. He even beat Andy Murray. However, these successes were achieved on hard surfaces.
On clay, his results from the previous season are encouraging. Paire won the San Benedetto Challenger in Italy, reached the semi-finals in Lüdenscheid in Germany, and was runner-up in Francavilla, losing to Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, ranked 132nd in the world. These results show that he is capable of playing well on this surface, which could give him an advantage in qualifying for the French Open.
The Motivation of Benoît Paire Put to the Rough Test
Capable of playing his best tennis when the motivation is there, Benoît Paire is a player who works a lot on emotion, as the founder of the Pontetian academy points out. At the Porte d'Auteuil, supported by a chauvinistic and excited public, the magic could work again. At the last Roland-Garros, he fought a fierce five-set battle against Cameron Norrie in the first round (7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4). “In recent years, the public has been very supportive of him. If he manages to express himself well, he can be there,” adds Alain Barrère.
However, Benoît Paire is increasingly tired of tennis and is seriously considering ending his career. “You won't see me anymore soon!”, he declared after his defeat against the Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan at the Houston Open in April (7-6 [15-13], 6-4). He believes that “tennis is destroying him”. With such words, this edition of Roland-Garros could be his last, although his desire to play is still present. The French public hopes that he will say goodbye during a memorable show, as only he knows how to do.
Text from the newspaper article the Marseillaise
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