Benoit Paire is in a happy place. The season gone by was his best in years, as he notched up a career-best 32 wins, clinched his first ATP title in four years in Marrakech, Morocco before adding another in Lyon.
The current campaign has started on a similarly strong note, with the Frenchman reaching the final in Auckland in the lead-up to the Australian Open. At the Tata Open Maharashtra where he is the title favourite, the 30-year-old will have a chance to scale another peak, his career-high ranking of 18, which he is just one shy of.
“It's very important for me to play good,” he said on Tuesday. “If I win the tournament, I will be 18 and there is a good chance to go better. I don't have any points to defend because my beginning was bad last year, losing eight or nine first rounds.”
“But there is no pressure. When I see in the newspaper, Twitter, Instagram, ‘you're top seed and you're gonna win the tournament’, no, it's not like that. Every player has the same chance. Maybe I have the better ranking so chances may be better. But it will be tough.”
The uptick in form has had a lot to do with the way he has managed to stay calm, he said. A mercurial figure on court, focussing for long periods has always been his bane.
Age and maturity
“I think I'm older and the maturity is coming,” he said with a smile. “I have been very calm since last year. Okay, sometimes I can break a racquet. But if you see over the year I was very calm and that's why my ranking is better, I won two titles and it was my best year.”
The sense of camaraderie he felt with his fellow French players in the recently held Davis Cup and ATP Cup has been crucial.
“Team matches representing my country are very important for me. I enjoyed the Davis Cup, and the ATP Cup at the start of the season. To play in front of the crowd with my friends Giles Simon, [Gael] Monfils, Nicolas Mahut…was great. We saw the results coming after that, I played a good tournament in Auckland. I lost to [Marin] Cilic in five sets at the Australian Open, but it has been good.”
Over his last seven visits to India, Paire has felt similar, if not greater, warmth. If he rides the wave until the coming Sunday, his numerous fans would have had their pennies worth.
EOM
