“I know I can beat everybody” – Benoit Paire confident after a successful weekend at UTS
After a semi-final run at UTS Frankfurt, Benoit Paire is now targeting a return to the world’s top 100 by the end of the year
Tennis Majors
Benoit Paire reached the UTS semi-finals in Frankfurt for the first time after his fourth attempt on the UTS Tour. Overall, it was a quality weekend during which he competed against some of the best players in the world, generating the Frenchman some much needed confidence to achieve his next goal: a return to the top 100.
“I know I can beat everybody,” declared Paire after his elimination against Andrey Rublev. “That’s important for my confidence to know even with top 10 players I can do something if I’m well physically and mentally. That’s why I’m gonna try my best for the next weeks to be back soon in the top 100.”
“It’s a good week. I beat Casper Ruud. I beat Jan-Lennard Struff. I had match points against Grigor Dimitrov. For me, it’s a very good week.”
Paire targets return to the Top 100 following UTS success
Benoit “The Rebel” Paire is currently 124th in the world, 110 points from the Top 100 and with only 38 points to defend between now and the end of the season.
A return to the world’s top 100, and along with it direct qualification for the draw of the Australian Open, is therefore perfectly plausible if the 34-year-old makes a strong end to 2023.
Even Paire’s defeat against Andrey “Rublo” Rublev today gave him some certainty: “I’m super happy, super proud because I was very close, even against the 6th in the world. Playing matches like that is very important for my confidence and me.”
Next week, the Avignon player will compete in the Bad Waltersdorf Challenger in Austria, during which he will meet an old acquaintance, Fabio Fognini, in the first round.
