Monte Carlo: Pair, Bonzi and Humbert eliminated, dark day for the Blues

Sad day despite the sun.

Benoît Paire, Ugo Humbert and Benjamin Bonzi were eliminated on Tuesday in the first round of the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo, so there will be no French in the second round of the first big clay-court tournament of the season.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had been beaten the day before by Marin Cilic and Arthur Rinderknech by Fabio Fognini.

Paire (61st in the world) lost in three sets against the young Lorenzo Musetti (83rd at 20) 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2.

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The screams of rage let loose by Paire after having equalized to a set everywhere did nothing, the Italian carried by the public clearly regained the upper hand in the decisive round, without being confused by the gestures of the Frenchman (who notably received a warning for throwing a ball over the seaward stand).

In the next round, Musetti will face the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (9th).

Bonzi (63rd), drafted from qualifying after the withdrawal of Roberto Bautiste (injury to the right wrist), was beaten 6-0, 7-6 (7/4) by the Briton Daniel Evans (27th), semi-finalist of the tournament last year.

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The Frenchman was completely overwhelmed in the first round, at the end of which he had a huge bandage placed on his left thigh.

And against all odds, it was he who took control in the second set to break away 3-0.

But Evans came back to 4-4, pushing the set to the tiebreak which he dominated.

In the next round, he will face the Belgian David Goffin (47th) or the Czech Jiri Lehecka (99th).

Humbert, he gave in to the Spaniard Pedro Martinez (45th) 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), after battling 2h30.