Benoit Paire retires due to extreme heat in Atlanta 

Earlier this year the Frenchman could not pay for a match win, but Benoit Paire seems to be finding his footing and passion for the game again. Last week in Gstaad he reached the quarterfinals and the week prior also enjoyed a nice run into Hamburg's last eight. In Atlanta this week it appeared that he was well on his way to reaching a third consecutive quarterfinal when he took the opening set against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori, but things began to crumble.

Tokyo is not the only city experiencing a heat wave, Atlanta is also getting its fair share of sizzling conditions. On Thursday, Paire quickly began to fade due to the heat which was recorded at 120 degrees on the court.

On the changeover the world No. 49 was forced to lay down and looked extremely worn down by the brutal conditions at the ATP 250. After coming up short in the second set and trailing 3-0 in the decider, Paire decided to retire.

In Ruusuvuori's post-match interview he spoke briefly on the conditions.

"It is quite extreme I have to say, I was on the brink, at the limit...especially when you come from Finland, you don't get this."

Ruusuvuori is set to face No. 3 seed Cameron Norrie next.