‘If you don’t want to play, stay at home,’ Dominic Thiem takes a dig at Benoit Paire
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Benoit Paire and Dominic Thiem
Last Month, the French Tennis Federation announced that they won’t be considering World No.35 Benoit Paire for selection of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. This decision was due to Paire’s unsportsmanlike conduct for the past 2 months.
The Frenchman had made a below the belt comment a few days back. Referring to the lack of spectators due to the Covid-19 pandemic at Monte Carlo, he said, “Tennis doesn’t make me happy anymore. To be here is an absolute sadness because it’s usually the best tournament in the world.”
Many players have criticized Paire for him comments. Recently, World No.4 Dominic Thiem joined the list of players who disagreed with Paire.
‘Nobody forces you to play’: Dominic Thiem
When asked by the press in Madrid if Thiem could empathise with Benoit Paire, he denied. He said that if any person doesn’t want to play, nobody forces them.
He said: “No, I don’t understand. If you don’t want to play, you stay at home. If you are not motivated, nobody forces you to play. I think what I did is better: I took some time, cancelled my participation in three or four tournaments, and at some point the motivation returns.”
“Once you get out on the court, I think you should be able to compete, even if you are not 100 percent. But if you don’t feel like playing, you better take a vacation.”
On tour, Thiem will begin his Clay court swing this week in Madrid. He is seeded 3rd in the tournament and will face the winner of Pablo Andujar and Marcos Giron.
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