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If you think Nick Kyrgios tanks, you need to meet Benoit Paire
Ryman White
Editor
16th July, 2015
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Nick Kyrgios was forced to retire from the Queen's tournament. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Ryman White
Editor
16th July, 2015
5

Australian tennis star, Nick Kyrgios, came under intense scrutiny during his 2015 Wimbledon campaign after appearing to tank several games during the second set of his four-set loss to Richard Gasquet.

After dropping the first set and then suffering an early break in the second, a frustrated Kyrgios had a verbal altercation with the umpire before taking out his frustrations on the scoreboard, dropping several games, and eventually the second set, in quick succession.

Kyrgios would go on to claim the third set and earn a set-point in the fourth, before being overcome by the Frenchman.

When questioned on the incident by journalists following the match, the 20-year-old was steadfast in defence of his behaviour.

“I kept playing,” Kyrgios said.

“Do you want to try to return Richard Gasquet’s serve? I’ll give you the racquet and we’ll see how many times you can return his serve also. Okay. He served too good.

“He hit serve past me as an ace. That’s too good. That’s too good… I did move.”

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His apparent attempted fightback was not considered a form of redemption in the eyes of many Australian tennis fans either, however two of the game’s best, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, were quick to go in to back for Kyrgios when asked about the apparent tank.

In context, Kyrgios’ behaviour could be considered more tactical than bad sportsmanship. Finding himself in a position where it was likely he would drop the first two sets, he decided to speed up the process and mount a comeback in the remaining sets – plan that came closer to playing out than the final score would have you believe.

The same can not be said for Frenchman, Benoit Paire, who has shown the tennis community how to really tank a tennis match.

Paire, the current world number 59, suffered his meltdown against Italian Filippo Volandri, who is currently ranked 194 in the world, at the San Benedetto Challenger tournament in Spain.

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After claiming the first set 6-1, Paire found himself down 4-2 heading into the seventh game of the second set, from which point he plainly threw the match away.

Paire would go on to lose the second set, before retiring from the match early in the third.

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