A French tennis star appeared to say he purposely aims to lose in the 1st round of pandemic-era tournaments so he can earn easy money then relax

• French tennis star Benoit Paire appeared to say he aims to lose in the first round of tournaments.
• He says he does so he can earn quick money and relax.
• Paire has lost in the first round of all but two singles tournaments he has played in since August.

French tennis star Benoit Paire appeared to say that he is currently aiming to lose in the first round of tournaments so that he can earn quick money, then kick back and relax.

The outspoken world No.33 made the shocking claim after crashing out of the Mexican Open first round in just 68 minutes at the hands Stefanos Tsitsipas last week.

"I lost in the first round, it's better, I will be able to get out of the bubble fairly quickly and enjoy a few days before Miami," Paire told L'Equipe after.

Paire has lost in his first match of all but two singles tournaments he has played in since the ATP Tour resumed in August following a five-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has won just twice in that time, beating South Korea's Soonwoo Kwon in the first round of the French Open in September before losing in the second round, and winning against Chile's Nicolas Jarry, ranked 1165th in the world, in Argentina in February.

"Tennis is not my priority at the moment. Getting out of the bubble is the only goal I have at every tournament," he told L'Equipe.

The 31-year-old, who has earned over $8.5m in prize money during his career to date, also said he had stopped working with a coach.

"I arrive, I take some money and I go to the next tournament: I do my job," he said.

"If you win an ATP 250, you only pocket $30,000. Me, with bye [in the first round], I took 10,000 each time losing straight. Why tear yourself away like crazy to earn barely more?"

Paire's comments came just days after he said tennis had become a "tasteless job" due to the fact he was having to play in empty stadiums.

"The ATP circuit has become sad, boring and ridiculous," he wrote on Instagram.

"I know you are going to say you don't realize how lucky you are ... but playing in closed stadiums without any atmosphere [isn't] why I play. Having to stay at a hotel or club and be forbidden to go out without risking a fine, where is the pleasure of travelling?

"Tennis [has] become a tasteless job. I need time to adapt to this pseudo ATP circuit but I will make the efforts to try to just rediscover the pleasure of playing tennis."

At the ATP Buenos Aires earlier in March, Paire also tanked his first round match following a foul-mouthed argument with the umpire, during which he twice spat on the court.

In an interview with Antenna 3 Deportes on Saturday, Toni Nadal, the uncle of Rafael Nadal and one of the Spaniard's former coaches, slammed Paire's recent behaviour.

"He is doing neither tennis nor his person any favors," he said. "He placed little value on the efforts and sacrifices of his colleagues. The truth is that he would have done better to keep certain statements and ideas to himself."

Paire received a bye into the second round of the Miami Open, which starts on March 23. The Frenchman will face either Italian Lorenzo Musetti or American Michael Mmoh in the round of 64.

The Miami Open has been plagued with star dropouts this season, with Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Nadal all missing the tournament.