Rome (AFP)
Benoît Paire, for his return to the courts after remaining in isolation in the United States after testing positive for the new coronavirus, was easily beaten on Monday by the Italian Jannik Sinner (2-6, 1-6) in the 1st Masters 1000 round in Rome.
The Frenchman (24th in the world) appeared feverish and at the end of his rope, throwing his racket several times at the start of the match, facing the 19-year-old Italian (81st) who played for his part a precise game without having to force.
It took just over an hour (1:04) for Sinner to secure his place in the second round against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, seeded N.3.
Excluded from the US Open at the end of August after his positive test for the new coronavirus, Benoît Paire had to remain confined in his New York hotel room before being able to return to France last week.
Sunday evening, the player, who wanted to have 24 hours more to find the rhythm, had violently attacked the organizers of the tournament in Rome by lambasting on Twitter a "shitty programming": "I made only one request, it's to play Tuesday to have one more day of training with what happened to me in New York, and as I'm playing an Italian you put me on Monday !! "
In a press conference after the match, Paire however assured "relativize" this defeat, in view of its lack of preparation.
"For me, it was a good training, I wanted to be able to play for an hour, it's good for the rest, I'm coming back in shape", he said, stressing that he had only had one training session. training to "hit the ball" since his return to Europe and a few "physical" sessions at Roland Garros.
"I hung on, I did what I could," he added.
© 2020 AFP