Flair of Paire: The flashy Frenchman's rise continues in Barcelona

BARCELONA—Benoit Paire reached his third ATP semifinal of the year on Friday with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri at the Barcelona Open. The Frenchman’s talented compatriots—Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon—have overshadowed him for years, but Paire is closing in on the Top 20 and has the ability to make a similar impact on the tour.

At 6’5”, the 26-year-old Paire cuts an imposing figure. But while he can hit a booming forehand and wallop a first serve, he’s more likely to hit a delicate drop shot or find an acute angle with his groundstrokes. He describes his game as “different.”

“I think if I played like all the normal players for sure I would not be Top 100 because my forehand is too bad,” Paire said. “I try to learn something else and it’s working.

“If I feel good on court, I can beat any player; if I feel bad, I can lose against you, maybe.”

Paire is refreshingly honest, which is as fun as his unique game style. He openly admits his favorite shot is the drop shot.

“I like to make some drop shots,” he said. “Today was not very good at this shot. If I have one shot I prefer, it’s the drop shot.”

In 2013, French magazine L’Equipepredicted that Paire would be No. 2 by 2018 (behind Grigor Dimitrov). When asked about the bold prediction, Paire said, “I think it’s a mistake.”

Though No. 2 may seem very far off, the progress he’s made is impossible to discount. After a left knee injury sidelined Paire for significant portions of 2014, he rose more than 100 spots in the rankings last season, earning the ATP Comeback Player of the Year award. In something of a triple crown, he won titles at three different tournament levels—ITF Futures, an ATP Challenger and his first ATP tour title in Bastad. But his biggest breakthrough came at the U.S. Open, where he upset defending finalist Kei Nishikori in the first round on his way to his first-ever fourth-round showing at a Slam. He began 2016 by reaching a career-high ranking of No. 18.

Paire has been here before. In 2013, he was ranked in the Top 30 for the first time before injury impeded a promising campaign. He made several unsuccessful returns as his ranking dropped to the 140s. But now, all of that pain is in the past.

“I feel good with my knee,” he said. “With confidence now I feel good on court. I [played] a lot of good matches last week in Monte Carlo, lost in three sets against Andy Murray serving for the match. It’s good for confidence.”

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Though sometimes criticized for a seemingly poor and flippant attitude, the kind of mental toughness he showed while in trouble today against Jaziri will serve him well tomorrow, when he’ll again meet Nishikori. The two-time defending Barcelona champion is 2-2 against Paire, with the other loss coming in semifinals of his home tournament in Tokyo last fall.

“I beat him two times [last] year so it will be revenge for him, and he won the tournament here last year so for sure he wants to win against me,” Paire said. “It’s not because I won against him last year that I’m going to win this year.”