Tennis: Benoit Paire loses temper with fans during semifinal win at ASB Classic

Benoit Paire was annoyed by the crowd in his semifinal win at the ASB Classic. Photo / Photosport

Frenchman Benoit Paire lost the plot in a big way during his ASB Classic semi final on Friday night.

After taking the first set against sixth seed Hubert Hurkacz, the world No 24 Paire seemed to be increasingly frustrated with spectators talking during points.

This reached a spectacular climax during the second set tiebreak, when Paire was distracted by a male fan in the Robinson Stand, frequently yelling "Come on Benny" in a sarcastic manner, just as he was about to serve.

The player stopped in the middle of his serving motion, and walked to the far corner, then addressed the umpire.

"Every time the same guy, 'C'mon Benny, C'mon Benny," said a furious Paire, imitating the spectator.

The umpire, who had already warned the crowd for talking several times, said he was powerless.

Benoit Paire, seen here in his quarter-final, was smashing racquets again in the semifinal. Photo / Photosport

"What can I do from [up] here? I'm telling them," said the umpire. "I signalled to the guy to stop"

Paire was still fuming, as the call was made again, and after serving a double fault, smashed his racket into the ground at 1-6 down in the tiebreak.

As he had already been warned for a code violation, a second warning meant a point penalty, which gifted Hurkacz the set

"I told you before, what do you want me to say, " said Paire to the umpire.
At this stage the umpire talked to the tournament referee David Smith, asking him to intervene.

"If you can tell them just to stop," said the umpire. "It's not only one guy, it's a few. If you can tell them to stop."