ATP Masters Monte Carlo: Is it just Benoit Paire who doesn't feel like going to the "cemetery"?
The ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo will also be played without fans. That beats Benoit Paire's mood. But not just him?
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Apr 12, 2021, 05:18 pm
Nobody knows what Benoit Paire's passion for baseball is like. However, if the Frenchman should consider joining the New York Yankees because of their reluctance to play tennis, Paire would face a difficult decision. Because with the Yankees: beard off. And Benoit Paire's has now reached epic dimensions. On the other hand: In the MLB they play in front of spectators, even if by far not in front of full seats (except in Texas).
In Monte Carlo, on the other hand, where Paire lost to Jordan Thompson in the tie-break of the third set on Sunday: dead pants in the stands. For which Benoit Paire, as so often, has found a few robust words. "Honestly, I don't give a shit about this match," said Paire after the opening defeat against Thompson. “If you play in a cemetery like this, that's just no longer possible.” To add: “All players think that way. Maybe I'm the only one who says it. "
Motivation holes also at Thiem
Which is not quite true. Nick Kyrgios also announced after the Australian Open that the ATP tour in its current form with bubbles and quarantine obligations exactly does not interest him at all. And that's why he will stay in Australia until further notice. Motivation holes are also not to be dismissed in other players - Dominic Thiem, for example, who skips Monte Carlo.
The cast of the first 1000 event of the year in Miami has already shown that the rather sparse cast from the top ranks (of the top four only Daniil Medvedev was at the start) could not have been due to the reduced prize money alone. Novak Djokovic put it in a nutshell: The industry leader would rather spend time with his family than gondola across the pond. Rafael Nadal quoted his bad back, Dominic Thiem let it be known that he was already preparing for the clay court tour. And then first said goodbye to go on vacation.
Djokovic and Nadal there
On the other hand: Anyone who has the intensity with which the players in Miami went to work in front of a very small number of spectators can also look hopefully to the matches in Monte Carlo. Especially since Novak Djokovic is of course at the start at his second home. And Rafael Nadal can hardly withstand an event on clay anyway.
The two superstars still had Monday off. And Benoit Paire could have rested too. Good for him. Because hardly anything is less motivating than a cemetery. Unless a cemetery in constant rain.
Here the single tableau in Monte Carlo
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