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After having a tough time on the ATP tour this year, Benoit Paire has expressed satisfaction with his level of performance at the 2023 French Open.
Paire was in action at Roland Garros on Monday, May 29, where he lost his opening-round match to 14th seed Cameron Norrie. He gave the Brit a tough fight before going down 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in three hours and 36 minutes.
At the press conference after the match, Paire stated that he was happy with his performance, though he wished he made it to the next round in Paris.
"I'm very happy. I'm coming back little by little in Roland Garros. I'm 149 ranking, and I'm playing against Norrie, who is 13. I lost the match in five sets, so I'm not frustrated. It was a great match on my behalf and on Cameron's behalf. At the beginning of the year I was 250; now I'm 149. I played the challengers, and I'm coming back little by little," he said.
"I can feel that I have the right level. The head must now follow," he added. "I'm happy with all the efforts that I've been making for some time. Today it was a great match. It was amazing. I enjoyed myself. I enjoyed myself. Of course, it's a shame that I didn't win. I would have liked to go further, but it's a good Roland Garros, and it's positive for what comes next."
"It's due to the stress" - Benoit Paire on losing to Cameron Norrie despite leading in the deciding set
After Benoit Paire and Cameron Norrie took two sets each, the fifth saw Paire, backed by a boisterous home crowd, go 4-2 up and two points away from victory. However, Norrie rallied and turned the match around to seal his spot in the next round.
Paire blamed stress for losing the contest despite having the upper hand at the end and recalled that it wasn't the first time this has happened this year.
"It's a shame, but I played a good match. I had an opportunity at the beginning of the fourth where I had a break, and I didn't make it, so I lost my concentration, but generally I remain concentrated right throughout the match. I didn't get annoyed, and I have no regrets today," he explained.
"Well, this year 6-2 in the fifth set against [Alexel] Popyrin (Monte-Carlo qualifying), 5-3 in the third set against [Matteo] Arnaldi (Madrid Masters), a lot of match balls," he added. "So today it's 4-2 in five. If I could have changed something today, I would have, but it's due to the stress, the fact that I wanted to do things well. That I was in Roland, I wanted to be in the second tour. That would be great in a Grand Slam. I would have been happy."
While disappointed with his early French Open exit, Paire is hoping to use this season to make a strong impression in 2024.
"I'll get past it. It's a transition this year. I'm trying to give each match my best and to come back for a full season next year beginning in the top 100 and to play the tournaments I like. I hope that I'll get through next year," he disclosed.
