The short number 1 of the Country Club Aixois turned, on Wednesday evening, into a rare and chilling scene on the Challenger circuit. Corentin Moutet, then in the midst of a battle for a place in the third round in Aix-en-Provence, saw sport tension switch to brutal intimidation. His Russian opponent, Pavel Kotov, would have launched him in the middle of a match: “The next time you come to the net, I will kill you.“Before adding:”One day, someone will kill you.“
Words heavy with threats, however spent between the referee’s meshes. The ATP has, for its part either, not flushed. Moutet then hastened to denounce the incident on X (ex-Twitter) : “There was not even a warning. Apparently, these words are allowed on the court. How do you want me to get involved if you don’t do your job?“, The French was addressed to the institution.
The message, quickly deleted, has given way to a disillusioned justification: “JI am too transparent, I speak too much as I think, and in this world, it is not good. Each time, it turns against me.“True to his outspokenness, Moutet resolved to listen to the advice of those around him, removing his message, but leaving the discomfort.
Match in two acts
The match will have lasted almost three hours, in an electric atmosphere where the spirits heated themselves from the first exchanges. One reproached his cries to the other, the other was annoyed by the ball traces or the time taken to replace. The encouragement quickly became caricatured, each trying to make more noise after each point won.
Interrupted the day before to a round everywhere and 5-5 in the third set, for lack of light, the match resumed this Thursday in an atmosphere still as tense. Moutet concluded the meeting with a volley perfectly affected with the net, before exulting without restraint. No handshake, or even with a look exchanged between the two men.
No complaint
Faced with the severity of the words, the question of a complaint could have arisen. Moutet, however, chose not to seize justice. “”Me too, in the past, I had words that I shouldn’t have had. Today, we know that there are people who say things on the ground they would not say outside. The important thing is that each person concerned knows the truth of the situation. I’m not going to file a complaint against him. If I want to solve my problems, I will go see it directly, but I don’t think it’s necessary.“Lucid, he prefers appeasement to judicial escalation.
There remains an episode that questions the management of verbal violence in professional tennis and the solitude of players in the face of drifts that the institution sometimes struggles to stem.
More French people in the running
For the first time since 2018, the Challenger 175 by Arnaud Clément will have no French in the quarterfinals. This last three tricolor hopes this Thursday were all beaten. Neither Arthur Rinderknech, nor Quentin Halys, seeded number 3, will see the next round. The nerve impulse left the day before was also right of Corentin Moutet, who, despite his morning victory, bowed to the American giant Reilly Opelka, 6-7, 6-7.
The results
Mariano Navone bat Quentin Halys, 6-2, 6-4
Valentin vacheot bat jaumu Munar, 7-6, 6-2
Borna Coric bat Arthur Rinderknech, 7-6, 6-4
The Gojo Bat Bat of the Galan, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Nishesh basavareddy bat albert Ramos, 7-5, 7-5
Stan Wawrinka bat Alexei Popyrin, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Ignacio Buse Bat Luciano Darderi, 6-0, 6-4
Reilly Opelka Bat Corentin Moutet, 7-6, 7-6
The Friday May 2 program
Quarter -finals, on the central courtyard from 11 am:
Borna Coric (Cro) – Mariano Navone (arg)
Reilly Opelka (USA) – Ignacio Bus (PER)
Stan Wawrinka (Sui) – Nishesh Basavareddy (USA)
Valentin Vacherot (Mon) – Borna Gojo (Cro)
