(Reuters) – Frenchman Benoit Paire dropped out of the Argentina Open after thinning out his last service game and being docked for a point for slashing the court in a loss of 4 -6 6-3 6-1 to Francisco Cerundolo.
Paire lost world number 29, who finished third in the competition, his temple over a line call when he went 2-0 down in the second set after Cerundolo ‘s service down the middle was considered an ace.
The bearded 31-year-old made a strong argument with the chairman of the court over a sign in the clay next to the line but failed to get the officer to turn the call over.
Paire then spat on the signal and shouted obscenity, earning a warning for breaking the first code of conduct.
Later in the set, a point was made for breaking a second code of conduct after being slammed again and arguing with the umpire of the chairman.
Serving at 5-1 down in the third set, Paire made two seemingly double faults deliberately to lose the game, knocking his last serve wide enough while a ball -ball still on court getting back to its previous service.
After the match, he posted a photo of his $ 8.50 million win and wrote: “Ultimately it’s worth a draw.”
Paire has a reputation as a chieftain, and has had several notoriety throughout his career, including being kicked out of the 2016 Rio Olympics by the French delegation for being spending too much time away from the city of athletes.
After being knocked out of the first round of the Australian Open, Paire launched a tirade at organizers, accusing them of “disgracefully” treating players during quarantine ahead of the Grand. Slam.
Cerundolo, who won his brother Juan Manuel ‘s Cordoba Open in Argentina last week, advanced to a quarter – final clash against sixth seed Pablo Andujar.
Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; edited by Richard Pullin