Benoit Paire has only won one of eight matches this year. Most recently, the Frenchman lost a clear defeat at the ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco against the top seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas. In addition, the world number 31. played his second round game against Francisco Cerundolo at the event in Buenos Aires and then caused a sensation on social media.

In Acapulco, Paire now followed suit and again signaled no willingness to change his attitude on the tennis court in the near future: "I lost in the first round, that's better. I can get out of the bladder quickly and have a few days off Enjoy Miami. "

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"Tennis is not my priority right now. Getting out of the bubble is the only goal I have in every tournament," continued Paire. Since restarting after the corona-related interruption, the 31-year-old "succeeded" quite well with only two wins in twelve tournament appearances.

Less money, less motivation

"I come to a tournament, earn some money and then go to the next tournament. I do my job," said Paire, who admitted after the tournament in Santiago that he had problems due to the empty spectator stands: "Competing in abandoned stadiums with no atmosphere is not why I play tennis. "

The Frenchman - like Elina Svitolina - sees another reason for his motivation problems in the lower prize money: "If you win an ATP 250 event, you only get $ 30,000. After my immediate defeats, I always have $ 10,000 Why should I tear myself apart like a crazy person just to earn a little more? "