That Benoit Paire, he’s one of a kind. If you think his racquet smash during the second set of his victory over Marcos Baghdatis was something (have no fear, of course it was), check out this screen capture of the Frenchman laying down during a changeover (courtesy of esteemed ATP commentator Chris Wilkinson). Some players call for the trainer during timeouts. Paire, ever the victim of debilitating ennui, might have needed to call for the shrink on this one.

Time for a snooze for Benoit ! pic.twitter.com/ghF5mFuAuU — Chris Wilkinson (@chriswilks12) October 8, 2015

The off-kilter tactics seem to have worked for Paire. He responded to play a fantastic third set against Baghdatis, clinching the 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory. By the end of the match, in a strange twist, it was Baghdatis who was smashing his racquet (not really that strange).



The victory propels Paire into his third quarterfinal of the season—and first on a hard court—where he’ll face fellow racquet smasher Nick Kyrgios for a spot in the last four at Tokyo.