In a stunning turn of events at the Open de Rennes, the unpredictable Frenchman, Benoit Paire, found himself on the wrong end of a thrashing by the rising British player, Jacob Fearnley. The 35-year-old Paire, a former Top 20 player, was soundly defeated by the eighth-seeded Fearnley in the first round of the ATP Challenger tournament.
Fearnley, a graduate of Texas Christian University who recently led his team to their first NCAA National Championship, put on a dominant display against Paire. Despite only serving at 43%, Fearnley managed to breeze through the match with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-0 in just 37 minutes. Paire struggled to find his rhythm throughout the match, winning a mere 21 points as Fearnley broke his serve six times.
As the match came to a close, Paire’s frustration was evident. After double faulting on match point, he was met with jeers from the crowd. In a sarcastic gesture, Paire blew kisses towards the spectators as he made his way to the net for the customary handshake with Fearnley.
The swift defeat brought back memories of another infamous short-lived match in tennis history. In 2014, Jarkko Nieminen defeated Bernard Tomic in just 28 minutes at the Miami Open. Tomic, like Paire, faced a quick exit from the tournament in a match that lasted a mere 13 minutes in the first set.
While Paire may not have a lengthy injury layoff to blame for his recent loss, having retired from his previous match two weeks ago in Como, Italy, he appeared unfazed by the result. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Paire shared his thoughts on the match with an emoji-filled post.
The match may not go down as the shortest in ATP history, but the manner in which Fearnley dismantled Paire certainly made it a memorable encounter. As the tournament progresses, all eyes will be on Fearnley to see if he can continue his impressive form and make a name for himself on the ATP Challenger circuit.