Argentina Open: Frenchman Benoit Paire penalised for spitting, 'tanks' in defeat

Buenos Aires: Frenchman Benoit Paire crashed out of the Argentina Open in disgrace on Thursday after he was docked a point for spitting, and then ’tanked’ his final service game in a stormy second round clash against local favourite Francisco Cerundolo. The world number 29, seeded third in Buenos Aires, lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 against the 22-year-old world number 137. The first flashpoint came in the second set with Paire leading 40-15 on Cerundolo’s serve, having been broken in the previous game. The 31-year-old was angered when a Cerundolo serve down the middle was deemed an ace. Paire argued furiously with Spanish umpire Nacho Forcadell that it should have been called wide, pointing to a mark on the clay surface but failing to convince the official. The Frenchman then spat on the mark and shouted obscenities before he was given a warning by Forcadell. Although he won the next point to break back, Paire was docked a point a couple of games later after again spitting and arguing with Forcadell.

Benoit Paire complains about a mark, spits on it, gets a code violation, then proceeds to take all the anger out on an overhead and continues to complain as he runs to the chair 😂 #abnamrowtt https://t.co/tcQpj502uB

— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) March 4, 2021

Paire called for the tournament supervisor, Jorge Mandl who tried to calm the Frenchman, but to no avail. Ever more mistakes crept into the riled Frenchman’s game and at 5-1 down in the third and final set, he appeared to give up and ’tanked’. Two mistakes left him trailing 0-30, after which he served two wild double-faults, seemingly deliberately.

This is so typical of Benoit Paire. A bad call goes against him and he decides he doesn’t want to try anymore so just tanks the match. He’s becoming unwatchable. #ArgOpen2021 pic.twitter.com/lBvMsAUopo

— Sarah (@Sarah_Oestreich) March 4, 2021

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He even hit his final serve of the match while a ballboy was still on court recovering his first service ball. Soon after his match, Paire left a message on Twitter showing his career earnings of more than $8.5 million with the words: “In the end it’s useful to be useless.”

Finalement ça vaut le coup d’être nul 😘🖕🏻 pic.twitter.com/PbWsGQLa1A

— paire benoit (@benoitpaire) March 4, 2021

Cerundolo, whose brother Juan Manuel won the Cordoba Open in Argentina last week, will face sixth seeded Pablo Andujar in the quarter-finals after the Spaniard beat Italian Gianluca Mager 6-4, 7-6 (7/5).