Dubai: The tough rigours of the tennis tour were best exemplified when Frenchman Benoit Paire explained what he has had to go through just to ensure he could be on court at this week’s Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open.
The 28-year-old Paire had a solid start to the season after making two semi-finals — at the Tata Open in Pune, India, and then at the Sydney International — where he lost in three sets on both occasions. At the Australian Open, Paire fell in the opening round, but managed a quarter-final at Montpellier, where he lost to countryman Lucas Pouille. However, after that Paire developed a severe bout of back pain and spasms that need ongoing painkilling injections.
Nicknamed ‘La Tige’ (meaning the stalk in French), Paire was off the court through the back pain for a major part of the past two weeks.
“I couldn’t even walk after Montpellier, and if it was not for the painkilling injection, I doubt I would be on court today,” Paire said after his tough three-set victory against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka late on Monday.
“After Rotterdam I saw my doctor and he told me it is normally not a big problem. For the moment I feel it is OK. The back is a bit tight but I am OK. Everyday is a victory for me,” he related.
Now ranked No. 46, Paire’s best at a Grand Slam was when he reached the fourth round at the US Open in 2015. Since then he has won just one title — the 2015 Swedish Open — while raking in a career best No. 18 on the rankings a little over two years back.
“I have played better than this before, but at this stage it is just about the confidence levels,” Paire said.
“And physically too, I need to be 100 per cent. For the moment it is tough. After the Australian Open I couldn’t even practice, and then after Montpellier the back injury put me down completely. So realise how important it is to be physically in a prime condition. And if I am physically good then I can be better and play better than what I achieved in 2016. I think what I need is one or two good wins so that I can feel better confidence-wise.”
Paire’s next match will be against either countryman Richard Gasquet or Borna Coric. “It is going to be a tough match against either. My focus at the moment is to stay longer at this nice tournament,” Paire said.
“I’ve done two semi-finals and a quarter-final already. Now I want to reach the final and why not here? I have a good draw and physically I have a good path ahead.”
