No one had really asked Benoit Paire to speak after his loss to Ilya Ivashka in the first round of the French Open. But the outspoken Frenchman was just as happy to approach the press on his own. He demanded speaking time. While Casper Ruud struggled through a four-hour match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga upstairs, Paire fired at the decision-makers in men’s tennis. – I’m sorry The fight against Ivashka he cared little. He wanted to talk about Wimbledon after they were deprived of points as a result of banning Russian and Belarusian players: – I want to know if ATP protects players or Russia? Paire believes the feud between Wimbledon and ATP primarily harms the players. He is very annoyed that all of them were not consulted, and thinks most people want to play Wimbledon with points. Like a number of other players, he now calls it an “exhibition”. – I’m sorry on behalf of the Russians and the Belarusians, but they are the ones who create the problems. And all ATP players pay the price. – There is war in Russia, so there is reason to sanction. But ATP should protect the majority, not four or five players. Paire specifically mentions world number two Daniil Medvedev. Other Russian players in the world top are Andrei Rublyov (7th in the world) Karen Khachyanov (25), Aslan Karatsev (41). He draws the lines to covid and believes it would never have been relevant to cancel tournaments because 3-4 players were infected or could not participate. – It is absurd World number one Novak Djokovic is among those hardest hit by the ATP stripping Wimbledon of points. He thus loses 2000 points without the opportunity to defend them. At the same time, he believes – like ATP – that it is right as a result of the tournament’s decision to ban the Russians. Ironically, the Wimbledon sanctions may now end with the world number one being Russian after the tournament: – It is absurd, says Paire. – I go there to pick up my prize money, as I would do in an exhibition tournament. GETTING FORWARD: Daniil Medvedev. Photo: DYLAN MARTINEZ / Reuters Medvedev called the position of ATP’s arguments more logical than Wimbledon’s at its press conference. He would like to play. But neither he nor the other Russian players are very clear in the speech one way or the other. However, Rublyov is clear on one thing: – Wimbledon broke the agreement with ATP. – When the relationship is like now, it can only go wrong, says the Russian star, who has previously marked distance from the war in Ukraine. He asks the organizations to work together so that tennis can unite and grow as a sport. PS! Paire was probably Paris’ busiest man on Tuesday. After losing and delivering the tirade, he said goodbye to Tsonga on the main field in front of an almost full stadium. He then played a doubles match and advanced to the second round of the tournament.
ttn-69
Demanded speaking time for thunder speech – believes the Russians are protected – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
