Smashing time
Frenchman overcomes secondset meltdown to reach Classic final
When he heads on court for today’s ASB Classic final, Benoit Paire’s bag will feel a little lighter. That’s because he has only two rackets left, after smashing the rest during an eventful week in Auckland.
The world No 24 has mixed chaos and charisma, magic and mayhem, and was at his unpredictable best in last night’s semifinal, overcoming a complete meltdown in the second set tiebreak to come back and beat sixth seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-2 in one hour 50 minutes.
Paire lost his composure as a fan repeatedly called out “C’mon, Benny” in a sarcastic manner as the 30-year-old was in the motion of serving. It distracted him at 5-6 in the second set, then at the beginning of the tiebreak, when he double faulted.
“Every time the same guy, ‘C’mon Benny, Benny’,” said a furious Paire, imitating the spectator, as he complained to the umpire, who repeatedly asked the crowd for silence.
Paire served another double fault at 1-5 in the breaker, then smashed his racket into the court, incurring a point penalty and gifting the set to his opponent. But from that emotional abyss, he recovered, edging ahead in the third set with a break and never relinquishing the lead.
Paire admitted his outburst allowed him to reset.
“Honestly, it was good,” said Paire. “The tension of the racket was not good, so I had to change it. It was my solution. But honestly, I have to break one racket to start with a new match, a new set and a new game. [But] I have two left, so I have to be careful. If I lose the first set [today], it’s dangerous for me.”
He also apologised for his outburst, though the spectator was clearly at fault.
“Between the first and second serve, already I am very stressed, I make some double faults,” said Paire. “I just said, if it is possible not before the first and second. And first point of tiebreak, when I made my double fault, it was the case. But it’s my fault. I have to stay focused, I can’t listen to everyone.”
Paire will face compatriot Ugo Humbert, guaranteeing the first French champion in the history of the event, after five previous runners-up from the Gallic country.
Humbert managed a convincing
7-6 (5), 6-4 win over two-time champion John Isner last night.
It’s the first ATP decider for the
21-year-old, who has risen more than
300 places in the rankings in the past two years.
Isner had been imperious throughout the week. Coming into the semifinals, he hadn’t dropped a single service game (28/28), swatting away all 11 of the break points he faced.
But his game was gradually dismantled by the clinical Frenchman, until by the end, Isner was out of ideas, befuddled and confused.
“It really wasn’t as close as the score indicated, to be honest,” said Isner.
“He was much better than I was, played with much better energy than I did, and I couldn’t get anything going, apart from holding serve a few times.”
And in the course of his victory, Humbert achieved a minor miracle; he out-served Isner.
The American regularly leads the aces count at the end of every season, and luminaries such as Roger Federer (among many others) have acknowledged his serve as the best.
It’s not just the delivery from a steep height, it’s also the laser accuracy; Isner can place it seemingly at will in either corner of a service box, like a kid dropping an acorn in a bucket.
But yesterday, Humbert bested Isner, not losing a single point in the entire match when his first serve landed. It was a staggering statistic, as the American went none for 38.
In contrast, Humbert was getting some good looks at the Isner serve and making some headway.
That showed in the breaker. An angled serve gave Humbert a 4-1 lead, which progressed to 6-3 when Isner netted a forehand.
The 34-year-old Isner saved two set points — with huge second serves — before Humbert closed out the set, forcing an error with a strong serve down the middle.
Isner isn’t used to losing tie breakers and seemed to be affected early in the next set, as he dropped serve for the first time this week.
Humbert then showed impressive composure to serve out the set, closing out the contest in one hour, 21 minutes.