‘Comes as a Tourist and Hopes to Get the Results’ – Former Wimbledon Champion Marion Bartoli Calls Out Benoit Paire for His Lack of Dedication

Benoit Paire had a disappointing start to the 2022 season. A veteran on the tour, the 32-year-old has shown great promise throughout his career. In a career spanning for over 15 years now, the Frenchman has captured three ATP singles titles and an ATP doubles title. However, he hasn’t had the best of results when it comes to the big tournaments, especially the Grand Slams. The former World Number 18 hasn’t been able to proceed beyond the fourth round in the Grand Slams in singles.

Further, his win-loss record to date this year stands at 2-8. He had a decent Australian Open outing. Paire knocked out Grigor Dimitrov in the second round before losing out to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round. Apart from this, he had first-round exits in the other tournaments. Recently, the 2013 Wimbledon champion, Marion Bartoli, opened up about her compatriot.

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Marion Bartoli has some strong words for Benoit Paire

Bartoli stunned the tennis world when she lifted her first and only Grand Slam title in Wimbledon back in 2013. Recently, she called out Paire for his lack of commitment towards tennis. She said, “We are not at all in the mental problem. Benoit Paire, he hasn’t trained for 5-6 years. He comes as a tourist and hopes to get the results from the guys who work. Do not give a damn about the mouth of the world.” (Translated using Google Translate)

However, it is not the first time she has spoken against her countryman. Last year, she slammed Paire for his behavior on the court. Further, she went on to say, “He’s damaging the game the way he behaves. When you have the youth and the young generation looking at that and they think it’s okay to behave like this, this is where my problem starts. So I think the ATP should have a sense of responsibility saying that we can’t display tennis that way, and therefore they should take some actions.” 

Further, Paire had a disappointing outing in Indian Wells. He bowed out of the tournament in the opening round, losing to Dominik Koepfer of Germany despite serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set.

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While he’s known for his big serves, the Frenchman will hope to get some big results further this year.