Benoit Paire never ceases to amaze with his statements. The Frenchman is recognized by many as one of the most talented and at the same time particular players on the ATP Tour. The former number 18 in the world has experienced a very difficult period in recent years, the pandemic, the empty stadiums and many particular situations have put him in great difficulty and led him to collapse in the standings.
This week the Frenchman, who has now fallen far behind in the standings, is involved in the Challenger tournament in Lisbon and many have wondered why Benoit was playing in Portugal and not in the home Challengers in France.
Hence a new small controversy with Paire, certainly not on good terms with the transalpine federation, who told the reasons to Bolamarela’s microphones. He explained: “Playing at home is a bit complicated for me at the moment.
People still expect a lot from me, I was number 18 in the world and therefore they always expect to see me win. Mentally I wasn’t ready and I’m not ready to play my best tennis, so I thought a quieter place would be better and from here I chose Portugal.
A common way to enjoy my tennis, I am very happy here and prefer to play outside of France. If I get back to my best level, maybe I’ll play in France again but there is too much pressure there and new pressures are created with each victory.”
Paire and the difficulties with tennis
Paire is currently number 165 in the world and was eliminated by Kazakh Skatov in the quarter-finals of the Lisbon Challenger. In recent months Benoit has explained his difficulties in this sport.
Here are some of his words: “Even if I am advised not to play. I try to get rid of this thing, because before I liked tennis, I liked these moments of tension, being on the court, but now I feel really unwell. It is a state of mind that I have had for a while.
Right now I dislike tennis, I hate it. Going on the pitch is something that disgusts me. Every time I step into it, I feel like running away. When I find myself on the pitch I am assailed by anxiety, I can’t manage it.”
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