In recent times, Frenchman Benoit Paire has been having a poor record on the singles track of the ATP Tour. In 2021, he just won one match against Chile’s Nicolás Jarry at the Cordoba Open; besides that, Paire has lost all his matches.
In his recent interview with L’Équipe, it sounded like the World Number 31 has lost the motivation needed for tennis. Currently, his motive seems to be to go to a tournament, lose the first-round match, escape from ‘bio-bubble,’ and eventually pickup round one’s paycheck.
On Wednesday, he lost 6-3, 6-1 to top-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in Acapulco, and he is yet to play his doubles match in the same event.
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“I lost in the first round, it’s better, I will be able to get out of the bubble quickly and enjoy a few days before Miami. Tennis is not my priority for the moment. Getting out of the bubble is the only goal I have at every tournament,” Benoit Paire stated.
Benoit Paire happy with the first-round loss paychecks
The Avignon-born tennis professional Paire said that by just losing the opening round of a 250 event, a player makes around USD 10,000.
Benoit is satisfied with that amount of pay; hence, he feels there’s no point in grinding like a beast for hours and hours to earn more prize money by making deep runs at tournaments.
Paire : "J'arrive, je prends un peu d'argent et je pars au tournoi suivant : je fais mon boulot. Là, si tu gagnes un ATP 250, tu n'empoches plus que 30 000$. Moi j'ai pris 10 000 à chaque fois en perdant directement. Pourquoi t'arracher comme un dingue pour gagner à peine plus ?"
— Quentin Moynet (@QuentinMoynet) March 17, 2021
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“I come (for the tournaments), I make some money, and (then) I go to the next tournament: I do my job,” he added. “There, if you win an ATP 250, you only get $30,000. I took a check of $10,000 each time by losing straight. Why tear yourself away like a crazy to win barely more?”
(Quotes have been translated with Google Translate)
This season, Benoit Paire lost both the matches in the ATP Cup, encountered a defeat in the opening round of the Australian Open , and was a round one casualty in Argentina, Chile, and the Mexican Open.
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His sole victory in singles was achieved at Cordoba Open against Nicolás Jarry. However, on the doubles domain, Benoit was the finalist in Cordoba and reached the quarterfinals in Chile.