In the absence of Gaël Monfils, last minute withdrawal due to a right foot injury, five French players played their first round between Monday and Tuesday. None will see the next round. After Arthur Rinderknech, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Benjamin Bonzi and Ugo Humbert, Benoît Paire lost this Tuesday against Lorenzo Musetti (6-2, 6-7 [4]6-2).
52 unforced errors for Paire
Paire showed far too much inconstancy and made many mistakes to dominate a player who is not yet playing at his highest level of confidence (seven successes in fifteen matches before this first round). His third set provides a good example. After tearing himself away to win the second set on his … eighth set point, he fell back into his ways and made a copy almost identical to that of the first act, lost in 31 minutes.
The Frenchman committed a total of 52 unforced errors (for 40 winning strokes) and his engagement regularly let him down (one ace, ten double faults, seven service games lost). His record for the 2022 season has so far been unspeakably sad: apart from his two successes at the Australian Open at the end of January, he has not won a single victory on the main circuit in nine tournaments. More consistent if not unplayable, Musetti will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, seeded 6, in the second round.
