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Benoit Paire's seemingly deliberate underperformance during his match at the Malaga Challenger event has sparked outrage among tennis fans.
Paire commenced his campaign in Malaga against eighth seed and home favorite Pedro Martinez. Martinez dominated the match from the start, winning the first set 6-0.
He maintained his strong performance in the second set and secured an early break. After being broken in the second set, the Frenchman retired from the match with the score at 6-0, 4-2, in the Spaniard's favor.
A moment of controversy unfolded when Martinez led at 3-0, 0-30 in the opening set. During the rally, Benoit Paire made a lackluster attempt at a drop shot which landed far out, seemingly making no effort to win the point.
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Subsequently, as the Spaniard held three break points, the Frenchman appeared to intentionally hit his shot out of bounds, allowing Martinez to take a 4-0 lead.
A fan shared a clip of the incident on social media and sarcastically remarked on the "special effort" made by Paire.
"Special effort by our beloved Benoit today," the fan posted.
Another fan advocated for the 34-year-old to receive a fine and be banned from the sport.
"Paire should be banned and fined," the fan commented.
Tennis journalist Jose Morgado expressed disbelief at the incident, prompting a fan to assert that it was undeniable tanking on display.
"What am I watching?" he posted.
"Completely undisguised tanking," a fan responded.
"A rigged match," another user commented.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:
A brief look into Benoit Paire's performance at Grand Slam tournaments this season
Benoit Paire took part in the qualifying rounds of the 2023 Australian Open. He defeated Matheus Pucinelli de Almeida 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5 before falling to ninth seed Michael Mmoh in straight sets.
Paire received a wildcard into the main draw of his home Slam, the French Open. The 34-year-old took on 14th seed Cameron Norrie in his tournament opener. The pair engaged in a riveting five-set battle, which ended with Norrie claiming a 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
The Frenchman then could not advance past the qualifiers at the Wimbledon Championships, losing 3-6, 3-6 to Oscar Otte. Paire suffered a similar fate at the US Open. He defeated compatriot Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of qualifiers before falling to Yu Hsiou Hsu in the next.
Benoit Paire's best result at a Grand Slam tournament so far has been reaching the fourth round, which he has achieved on four occasions. He accomplished this feat once at the French Open, once at the US Open, and twice at Wimbledon.
