Benoit Paire and controversy are rarely far apart and he proved as much at the US Open having been accused of ‘tanking’ his first round match to British No 1 Cameron Norrie.
Norrie breezed to a 6-0, 7-6, 6-0 victory in New York and Paire hardly seemed to try for sets one and three, with the first lasting only 18 minutes and the third only going one minute longer.
Paire, who will net $80,000 as a first round loser, was so dispirited at 0-5 down in the third, he appeared to pack up his equipment bag – despite having one more game still to play.
It is one of many meltdowns and controversies he has had on court – with his most famous coming in defeat at the Citi Open in Washington in 2018.
Sportsmail looks back on some of his most infamous on-court meltdowns…
Benoit Paire sits on the side of the court during his match against Cameron Norrie at the US Open, where he put in the bare minimum of effort for two out of the three sets before losing
March 2021 – Argentina Open
This was a shameful episode from Paire.
Paire crashed out in Buenos Aires, losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to Francisco Cerundolo – but this was all about his conduct – or lack of – on court.
Paire, then world No 29, was furious at a line call that awarded Cerundolo an ace in the second set.
The Frenchman contested it, arguing furiously with the chair umpire before spitting on the mark when it wasn’t overturned.
By this point Paire couldn’t be bothered and was docked a point in the same set for spitting for a second time. Down 5-1 in the third, he made what looked like two deliberate double-faults to tank the match.
Remorseful afterwards? Not quite, he posted a screenshot of his £6.1million career earnings. ‘In the end it’s worth it to suck,’ he wrote.
There were boos for Paire when he was caught spitting at the Argentina Open during 2021
January 2021 – Interclubs match in France
Back in his native France, Paire was apoplectic with rage at an indoor Interclubs event.
In footage captured by a stunned spectator, Paire launches his racquet at the wall to the bemusement of courtside staff after a botched serve against Pedro Martinez.
‘In tennis, you go through all the stages, it’s a rollercoaster, but it’s something I love, also when I get crazy,’ Paire told Society Magazine in 2019. ‘Having said that, I think that now I am calmer than before, I am progressing.’
He must have a different idea of progressing towards calmness based on this episode.
August 2018 – Citi Open
This is perhaps the biggest meltdown of Paire’s career to date.
Paire was booed off court after a petulant performance that saw him lose his mind as he smashed his racquet several times on court, before kicking out at the court-side bench seating.
Down 6-3, 3-6, 2-4 in the final set, Paire lost his footing trying to pull off an overhead smash volley.
He was furious and proceeded to smash his racquet onto the hard court four times before getting back on his feet and launching the racquet.
Paire wasn’t done at the change of ends though, kicking out at a bench and proceeding to smash the new racquet out of his bag onto the court.
Marcos Baghdatis was able to hold serve to win the match and Paire proceeded to break another racquet before congratulating his opponent.
A $16,500 fine felt a let-off in the grand scheme of things.
His biggest meltdown to date came in Washington in 2018 in a defeat to Marcos Baghdatis
After missing an overhead volley, Paire began furiously smashing his racquet on the court
June 2017 – Halle Open
Onto the grass now and in Halle, Paire completely lost his head up against Florian Mayer.
Just two games in the first set, the Frenchman mishit a ball while on a break point.
He quickly smashed his racquet on court in pure frustration – even going on to whack the net with it.
That was the tip of the iceberg as Paire was handed a point and then a game penalty having seen his behaviour extend to smashing two balls into the stands.
Winning the match seemed to be far from a priority at this point and to the surprise of very few, he was roundly beaten 6-0, 6-4.
Frustrations in Halle in 2017 reached new heights when he got three warnings in two minutes
May 2017 – Italian Open
Much like in Buenos Aires years later, Paire was not having it when an umpire took a point off him as he disputed the call.
Paire was left furious at an adjudged over-the-net call by the umpire.
He was adamant he had won the point fairly but the chair umpire disagreed and Paire, after falling behind 3-1 in the second set, destroyed his racquet on court.
He walked over to his bag to get a new one out, only to start taking his frustration out by beating up a courtside chair with his new racquet.
Not a happy man.
Paire was furious in Rome in 2017 as he started whacking a courtside chair with his racquet
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