Paire’s houdini act leaves Cilic bemused
I lost five times in a row against Marin. I was not confident before the match. But I’m really happy about the win. It was not easy today
The second day of the men’s main draw produced some dramatic moments and an upset in the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday night. Eighth-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire saved four match points en route to avenging his Australian Open defeat to Croatian Marin Cilic, while Englishman Daniel Evans shocked fourth seeded Italian Fabio Fogini on Centre Court at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
World No.21 Paire, who had suffered a heartbreaking tie-break loss to Cilic in Melbourne, staved off four match points in the second and third sets to eventually beat the 2014 US Open winner 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1).
Evans, meanwhile, too fought back from a set down to defeat Fogini 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours and 39
Benoit Paire
France player
minutes.
“Yeah, it was not easy today,” Paire said after the match that lasted two hours and 32 minutes.
“I lost five times in a row against Marin. I was not confident before the match. But I’m really happy about the win. It was not easy today. I was not feeling really good on the court. Little bit sick for two, three days. Really happy to win today and to fight until the end. Normally when it’s one set, 5-3, I normally tank (give up). This time I tried until the end. It was good work. Really happy about the win,” he added.
Paire was aware about Cilic’s threat and felt good the he could get past the Croatian.
“The only thing is when you play against Marin, he was top 10, he won a US Open, he won a lot of big tournaments, he is not seeded here, and honestly he’s a very good player. I knew it would be difficult to beat him today. But that’s what I did,” said Paire.
Tiebreaks had been a bit of a heartbreak for Paire with him losing three matches this year in tiebreaks. And that did play on his mind.
“For me, mentally it was not easy to serve at 6-5 because I lost three matches this year at 7-6 in the fifth set in Melbourne. Even if you do 6-All, you are going to lose. Why fight until the end? This time I say, ‘Okay, I’ll try’,” he explained.
Meanwhile Evans was pleased that he could stick it out against Fogini. “It’s difficult to play Fabio. He’s such a class player. Just happy to come through really. It was a good battle. I didn’t actually get to play my game too much, but it was good,” said Evans.
“Felt like he was on top forever really. Yeah, just hanging in. Good part of my game is hanging in, just staying in the match really. Points for double break in the second set, just stuck it out,” he added.
Evans also said it was tricky playing Fogini. “His demeanor is so hard to play. No intensity, then he’s right on it hitting the ball to the lines. It’s tough to play him. He’s obviously such a good player. Moves so good, as well,” Evans said.