Fiery Frenchman Benoît Paire is no stranger to showing his emotions on court.
But running parallel to his heart on sleeve approach to tennis is a natural skill and finesse that has earned him multiple places at all four Grand Slam events in his career.
On the ball
Paire, who lives in Geneva, Switzerland, and trains with coach Thierry Champion, stands at an impressive 6”5 – an imposing figure for any opponent on-court. But in spite of his height, the right-hander is remarkably quick to the ball and boasts a useful repertoire of diverse shots.
As a youngster, Benoît built his reputation on the Futures circuit and won an impressive 5 Challenger events before making progress on the ATP Tour.
Comeback Player of the Year in 2015 – following a torrid, injury-ridden 2014 – the then unseeded big-hitter won the Swedish Open and rose to #18 in the world. Since then he’s remained a consistent fixture in the Men’s Top 100.
Benoît has also had joy in his Doubles career, winning the Chennai Open in 2013, and made it to the final of the same tournament three years later, alongside American Austin Krajicek.
2017 has been a mixed year, but wins like this one against Italian number one, Fabio Fognini, showcase his ability and confirm his presence as a formidable force in tennis…
Benoît for Babolat
Benoît Paire is an official player for Babolat and wears the Propulse Fury All Court tennis shoe.
This shoe is designed for explosive players and feature MICHELIN technical soles which Benoît confesses “…help me a lot on the court by providing superb grip.”
The 28 year old is certainly a power player, and so needs exceptional traction on all surfaces to perform at his best – and that’s exactly what he gets.
“It makes sense,” says Benoît. “Shoes are to human beings what tires are to cars.”
What’s next?
Much of the tennis season is still yet to unfold, so Benoît will be looking to stay fit and ready.
He’s already faced Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal in 2017. And promising displays in April – including a runner up finish at Sophia Antipolis (Challenger) and a semi final spot at the Grand Prix Hassan II (ATP) – have set him up for an exciting year.
Going into the Madrid open in a rich vein of form, Benoît earned hard-fought victories against Pablo Carreño and world #3 Stan Wawrinka, before eventually bowing out to Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas in the Round of 16.
No doubt there’s more big matches to come, and plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
And one thing’s for sure: we’ll be with him all the way!
You can follow Benoît on Instagram at @benpaire