ATP Masters Cincinnati: Benoit Paire - "Ready to beat the best"
Benoit Paire won the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in four years against a top 10 player. And now you want more.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Aug 19, 2021, 06:18 am
The images of games with Benoit Paire's participation around the world in recent months were mostly not positive. Luscious behavior, no fight, no bite and constant verbal derailments: Yes, most recently in most of the 32-year-old's matches it was apparent that the French had just as little fun with tennis as they did with the French.
But that should now come to an end, because the reason for Benoit Paire's anger has also come to an end: "I said from the start that the bubbles bothered me. Now I have found the motivation and drive to play tennis again, and you can see that on the pitch, " explained Benoit Paire to the French L'Equipe after his opening success in Cincinnati.
Paire celebrates first top 10 success in four years
There the French managed to defeat the number ten in the tennis world with Denis Shapovalov. The first top 10 success for the 32-year-old in a whopping four years. Naturally, this required an increase in performance, as Paire himself emphasized: "I have managed to reach my level and my physical and mental form again, which come close to the previous level. To defeat Shapovalov, who reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, is not easy."
This victory seems to be the world number 50. Paire is no longer making a secret of his great ambitions: "Now that tennis has returned to normal, I have beaten a top 10 player again since 2017. My tennis is here. My legs are there where they should be and my head follows them. I'm a 100% tennis player again and ready to beat the best. "