6-2, 5-1 then the black hole: Pair fails at the doors of the big picture

Benoît Paire, 164th in the world, served twice for the match before finally losing 2-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 against Australian Alexei Popyrin (95th), Sunday in the second round qualifying for the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo.

The French displayed his happiness to replay major tournaments after his victory the day before against his compatriot Grégoire Barrère (62nd), he who lived through years of post-covid doubt which saw him plunge in the standings. But on Sunday, he fell just two points short of the main draw.

While he clearly dominated Popyrin and seemed to be heading for a victory as quiet as it was convincing by breaking away 6-2, 5-1, the Avignonnais did not know how to conclude. He notably missed a setback at 5-4 and 30/30 in the second set which would have given him a match point.

For his part, the tricolor hope Luca van Assche gave up 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 against the Russian Ivan Gakhov (186th) who had already released another Blue on Saturday, Adrian Mannarino. The only survivor is therefore called Ugo Humbert. The Lorrain got rid of the finalist of the 2019 edition, the Serbian Dusan Lajovic, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. In two participations, he has not yet reached the second round of the main draw where he joins Richard Gasquet and Benjamin Bonzi, the only two Frenchmen integrated directly this year.