Paire snaps seven-match losing streak to set up clash against struggling Rune

Frenchman Benoit Paire has had a torrid year. Coming into this week, Paire was on a seven-match losing streak with his last win coming at Geneva in May.

The Frenchman has been open about how much he has hated being on court as he feels stressed and anxious and revealed he had consulted psychologists as well as hypnotherapists to help him rediscover the joy of playing.

On Monday at the Citi Open in Washington, Paire took one small step in the right direction as he defeated German Peter Gojowczyk 7-5, 6-4 to move into the second round of the ATP 500 event in Washington DC. With the win, Paire’s 2022 win-loss record stands at 4-19 on the ATP Tour.

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Up next for the 33-year-old will be the Danish teenager Holger Rune, who is in the midst of his own losing streak. Rune has also lost his last seven matches in a row dating back to his quarter-final loss to Casper Ruud at the French Open.

Seeded ninth this week, Rune had a first-round bye in the 48-player draw. The Dane has beaten Paire in their only previous encounter on tour – a round of 16 clash in Santiago on clay last year.

Interestingly, the seven-match losing streaks of Paire and Rune both began against Ruud at the French Open. The Norwegian defeated Paire in the fourth round and then Rune in the quarter-finals in Paris.

Washington ATP 500, first-round results (Rock Creek Park Tennis Center, hard, USD 2.108.110, most recent results first):

• Adrian Mannarino beat Bradley Klahn (WC): 6-2, 6-4
• Jack Draper beat Stefan Kozlov (WC): 7-5, 6-2
• Alexei Popyrin beat Tung-lin Wu (Q): 3-3 ret.
• Mikael Ymer beat Andy Murray: 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-1
• J.J. Wolf (WC) beat Taro Daniel (Q): 6-2, 6-3
• Borna Gojo (Q) beat James Duckworth: 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
• Denis Kudla beat Michael Mmoh (Q): 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
• Dominik Koepfer (Q) beat SoonWoo Kwon: 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
• Kyle Edmund beat Yosuke Watanuki (Q): 6-4, 7-6 (8)
• Nick Kyrgios vs. Marcos Giron
• David Goffin vs. Jack Sock
• Sebastian Korda vs. Ilya Ivashka
• Mackenzie McDonald vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
• Benjamin Bonzi vs. Christopher Eubanks
• Yoshihito Nishioka vs. Jenson Brooksby

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