LE SCAN SPORT – In recent months, Benoît Paire had often exposed his front side. Angry, disillusioned, exasperating. Winner of the Bulgarian Dimitrov, qualified for the 3e round of the Australian Open, the Frenchman offered himself a nice slice of play and pleasure.
In need of results, Benoît Paire (56th in the world) snatched a resounding victory this Thursday by dismissing the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (seeded n ° 26) 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4/7) , 7-6 (7/2) to reach the 3rd round of the Australian Open. Before thinking about the rest, facing Stefanos Tsitsipas (n°3), the Avignonnais let his emotion burst and shared his joy by performing a lap of honor to thank the public, distribute his towels. He, who on several occasions repeated during the health crisis, as in Monte-Carlo last year, that the supporters missed him sorely: “ It no longer brings me anything happy, tennis, when you see the conditions. It is absolutely sad. »
In Melbourne, even with a 50% gauge, the French n°4 took advantage of the noisy public, evenly shared between the two players. Shocked, he told Eurosport: “ It hasn’t been easy since the beginning of the year, I’m very happy, I know my parents and everyone are watching, frankly it was exceptional. It was a shitty year, last year it was complicated. This year it’s starting, I’m positive, I’m doing seven days, it’s still starting like shit and finally I’m here. I hang on, I make a big match, one of my best for a very long time. For me, it’s only positive. I was criticized a lot, all that at one time is heavy, and when I manage to make matches like that, I have support here among French supporters, frankly there is nothing better. With Benoît Paire, things are never lukewarm. The man and the player rarely infuse their feelings. This Thursday, it was on the tail side. A splendid slice of emotions. Waiting for the sequel.
He who has already participated in the round of 16 Grand Slams at Roland-Garros (2019), Wimbledon (2017, 2019) and the US Open (2015) is now aiming for a place in 8e at the Australian Open. In Melbourne, he has already reached the third round twice (2014 and 2017), without managing to climb the obstacle. Stefanos Tsitsipas (the Frenchman has beaten the Greek once in four matches) will stand in his way.
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