Rising Frenchman Benoit Paire made a successful return to the ATP Tour last week after being sidelined for over two months with a left knee injury, but the 24-year-old Avignon, France native is still nowhere where he needs to be in terms of fitness and feel for the ball.

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After reaching the quarterfinals in Casablanca, Paire was bounced from the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Monday in three sets by Albert Montanes, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.

After playing three matches in less than a week, the world No. 34 just wants to head home to do some more rehab and get some practice time in.

“I want to go home, practice,” Paire told reporters. “It was very bad. I tried my best, but I only practiced three times in three months. It's not enough, of course.”

Paire reached a career-high ranking of 24 in the world last season, which included a breakout Masters 1000 result on clay in Rome, where he reached the semifinals. To regain that form, the Frenchman will will need some time.

“I've been fighting since I played in Casablanca,” he said. “But this match was very tough. I wasn't able to play my forehand, and physically it was extremely difficult for me. I lack practice. After one hour of play, I'm tired and I have sore muscles. It's just that I'm tired.”

Though the left knee injury that originally sidelined him is “fine,” Paire says there is still a lot of pain to deal with.

“I tried to play tournaments back-to-back, playing Casablanca, Monte-Carlo,” Paire said. “For the time being, so far, so good. My knee is all right. The ultrasound was all right. But my knee bothers me when I play. Since I came back after three months without playing, I was only five or six hours on the court, including that match.”

Paire says he hopes to play Estoril later this month, followed by Madrid. Estoril begins on April 28.