Winston-Salem (USA) (AFP)
Benoît Paire clinched his ticket for the round of 16 at the ATP tournament in Winston-Salem on Tuesday, where he could be joined by Jeremy Chardy and Ugo Humbert if they manage to qualify in the evening.
Benoît Paire, 30th player in the world, easily beat India's Prajnesh Gunneswaran, 89th in the standings, 6-3, 7-5 in 1:10 of play. His 14 aces and 83% points earned at the first serve allowed him to make the difference, with also 3 breakpoints converted to 4.
In the next round, he will face the winner of the match between his compatriot Ugo Humbert, 21 and 62nd, and the American Bjorn Fratangelo, 119th.
A third Frenchman can hope to reach the round of 16: Jérémy Chardy, 74th, who faces the American Frances Tiafoe, 52nd.
The American adventure ended on the other hand in the first round for the tricolor Corentin Moutet (83), beaten by local Steve Johnson, 82nd, 6-3, 6-3 and Antoine Hoang, 98th, despite winning the first set against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (105) 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-2.
© 2019 AFP