It was, for more than two hours, a delightful opposition of styles. A struggle that is often unequal, never boring, a fight on a ridge line. On the one hand, an elf driven by a touch of madness, creative and excessively emotional, a lover of risk. On the other, 15 centimeters higher perched, a robust fellow, with a Cartesian tendency, tough to the fault, but not averse to the beautiful game, far from it. And, between the two men, Dantesque points at times, a few failures quickly swept away by tasty gestures, punctuated by improbable reversals.
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How to summarize this crazy match? Perhaps by the match point: the “little one”, who had inflicted twelve serves on the “big one” with a spoon, concluded with an ace. Moments of jubilation. Friday May 31 at the end of the evening, Corentin Moutet defeated the Austrian Sebastian Ofner (3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1), on an ecstatic Suzanne-Lenglen court. For the first time in his life, at 25, the 79e world player reaches the round of 16 at Roland-Garros. A first since 2020 for a Frenchman.
In the stands, as midnight approaches, the 10,000 seats are still largely occupied. And despite the late hour, the spectators jump up, shouting: “He who doesn’t jump isn’t Moutet, hey! » Between sets they sang The Marseillaise, chained the olas. Until now, at this gloomy start to the tournament, the opportunities to get excited had been rare for the French public, who made no mistake about it. In return, Corentin Moutet, a regular at the “shows”, delivered to the spectators a rare summary of emotions.
All smiles on the court after his nice shot, the Frenchman enjoyed the microphone: “Well done to us, we were strong, thank you very much for your support. » He, the kid from Neuilly-sur-Seine, has just fulfilled a childhood dream: “Roland, as French, it is a tournament that accompanies us in our youth. I saw Nadal win 25 times here! I hope you enjoyed it tonight, and that you will enjoy it on Sunday. » The poster will be good against the Italian Jannik Sinner, a great champion of clinical play and world No. 2.
Read also: Roland-Garros: as master of the place, Rafael Nadal extinguishes the ardor of Corentin Moutet
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Rigor and madness
A few hours before the end of the crazy evening, everything had started with a first twist of theater. At the end of the afternoon, the rain, omnipresent, becomes a little too heavy. In this soaked Roland-Garros, where showers follow drizzle, where the gloomy sky chops up the matches, what to make of the match between Moutet and Ofner, scheduled last on the Simonne-Mathieu court? The organizers then found an opening to schedule it on Lenglen, helped by the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who had just won his match in three straight sets. With its new roof, the court offers the guarantee of avoiding drips and the promise of an uninterrupted show. Enough to console Moutet, until then winner of his first two rounds on the Simonne-Mathieu.
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