Yo could also set labels = FALSE inside axis(...) and print the labels in a separate command with Text. With this option you can rotate the text the text in case you need it
lablist<-as.vector(c(1:10))
axis(1, at=seq(1, 10, by=1), labels = FALSE)
text(seq(1, 10, by=1), par("usr")[3] - 0.2, labels = lablist, srt = 45, pos = 1, xpd = TRUE)
Detailed explanation here
