Benoit Paire was sharply eliminated in the second round of the ATP 250 Tournament in Montpellier.
The Avignon player lost to his French compatriot Harold Mayot (6-1, 6-4).
But what we will remember from his match is Paire's angry and frankly annoyed reaction at the start of the match.
When he had missed his start and found himself trailing two games to zero, he verbally attacked a spectator who had just reproached him for his missed start.
“If it’s to tell me that you bet, there’s no point in talking to me,” he says.
Who do you think You Are ?
Who are you ?
".
Invited by the chair umpire to remain calm, Paire seems to want to resume the course of his match when, clearly, a new sentence from the spectator causes him a second increase in tension.
“What, after the match?”
Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?
»
Benoit Paire 🇫🇷 responds to a spectator who calls out to him in Montpellier 😬
🗣️ “If it’s to tell me that you bet, there’s no point in talking to me.
Who do you think You Are ?
Who are you ?
»
🎥 @lequipepic.twitter.com/iL2em1TQYq
— Univers Tennis 🎾 (@UniversTennis) January 31, 2024
Completely out of concentration, the 112th in the world, winner of Andy Murray on Monday (first victory on the main circuit since August 2022) let the first set slip away (6-1) before losing in the second (6-4).
Beyond the anger of the player, the annoyance of the spectator explaining that he had bet on a Pair victory is no longer a novelty in the world of tennis already faced with cyberharassment from frustrated bettors.
“Frankly, it makes me hysterical,” explained former player Pauline Parmentier in our columns almost three years ago.
The guys feel themselves growing wings on their couch, peacefully.
They probably never kicked a ball.
Some are real psychopaths.
They know they are untouchable and that gives them strength.
» It is indeed impossible to close all the hateful accounts.
Useless and counterproductive to try to answer or reason.
Illusory to take the time to file a complaint in the middle of a tournament.
Unless a threat is taken more seriously like this former French player who had received a few photos of cellars accompanied by a message explaining where she was going to end up...