Have we finally found Benoît Paire? Not that the Frenchman is still back at his best level, but he has the merit of stringing up encouraging performances after having gone through the start of the pandemic like a zombie. Thus, a few weeks after his quarter-final in Gstaad, Paire has just offered a renowned opponent to go to the round of 16 in Cincinnati: Denis Shapovalov, 10th player in the world (victory 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 ).
The next round may be at least as difficult since it will pit the French against John Isner or the young prodigy Jannik Sinner. Finally, note that a little earlier, Monfils, 22nd and best French in the ATP ranking, had more easily eliminated the Serbian Dusan Lajovic (43rd) in straight sets, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, in a match late for the 1st lap, during a day very disturbed by the rain. The Frenchman will play again later against De Minaur.