Benoit Paire pulled off the biggest upset at the ongoing Cincinnati Open yesterday. In the second round of the hardcourt tournament, the Frenchman stunned sixth seed Denis Shapovalov in an intense three-set battle.

Before the Cincinnati Open, Paire endured a tough start to 2021. While he mouthed off after his exit from the Australian Open, France banned him from participating in the Tokyo Olympics for those actions. In addition, he suffered first-round exits to seeded players in the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year.

After his victory yesterday, the 32-year-old spoke about the criticism he faced for his earlier performances.

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Benoit Paire reveals many doubted his abilities before the Cincinnati Open

Paire faced Shapovalov for the fourth time in his tennis career. Although both players have an age difference of 10 years, Shapovalov is far ahead of the Frenchman in the world rankings. However, Paire led the World No. 10 2-1 in their head-to-head.

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While it may not seem like much, one could say Paire had a leg up on the 22-year-old. And the World No. 50 extended his lead in the head-to-head with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 victory. This also marked the first time he beat a player in the Top 10 since Stanislas Wawrinka at the Madrid Open in 2017.

Paire faced lots of criticism in his career due to his inconsistency and poor performances. He said, “I heard it a lot, that I was no longer a tennis player: ‘Benoît Paire here, Benoît Paire there, Benoît Paire is a mountebank.’ I have always said it: playing in conditions like that is not my thing.” (Quotes translated from Google)

However, he admitted he can beat the best now that tennis is slowly returning to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic. “Now that tennis is back to normal, I manage to beat a top 10 so it’s only tennis, it is there…  My legs are there when they need to be and the head follows. I did what I could during that time and there I became a 100% tennis player again and ready to beat the best.”

Paire to face either Jannik Sinner or John Isner in the third round

Sinner, the 11th seed in Cincinnati, will take on Isner today with the winner facing Paire in the third round. Both players will face each other for the first time in their careers. In addition, Paire shares an identical 1-1 head-to-head record with both Sinner and Isner.

Can the Frenchman build on momentum after causing the biggest upset in the tournament so far? Only time will tell.

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