The native of Neuilly-sur-Seine was eliminated by the world number 2 this Sunday, the Italian Jannik Sinner. Hard-hitting on the court, loud-mouthed, Corentin Moutet tried to change his image as the bad boy of French tennis. Portrait.
He was the last Frenchman competing at Roland Garros. “It was once again incredible. It was a bit ‘in door’ with the roof, there was a lot of noise, they (the public, editor’s note) supported me enormously, even when it was complicated”he said after his victorious match against the Austrian Sebastian Ofner in the third round of the French Open.
His anger and his unfiltered declarations made him a bad boy of French tennis, but his game made him this year at Roland-Garros, a standard bearer. Due to his rants, he was banned from the French Tennis Federation at the end of 2022: no more financial aid, no more federal coach (he was notably disqualified in Adelaide (Australia) at the start of the year for having spoken badly to the referee by throwing a “fuck you”).
The Ile-de-France resident handles frustration poorly. A hothead, who expresses himself on the ground, but also on the airwaves. For 4 years, Corentin Moutet has been rapping about his neuroses.
“I am expressive, sometimes I let myself be carried away by my emotions, but I can win very difficult matches, push myself to my limits, and there are not a thousand of us who know how to do that”he defended himself at the time.
Sixteen months after an operation on his left wrist, after which he played his one-handed backhand for a while, he made it to the round of 16 for the first time at Roland Garros, for the second time at a Grand Slam , at age 25 (after the 2022 US Open).
Above all, he will make a jump in the rankings on June 10, not very far from the top 50, which opens the doors to the Olympic Games in less than two months in Paris, again on the courts of Roland-Garros, provided that Adrian Mannarino is giving up his challenge (he believes he has no chance on clay).
On the Central this Sunday, Corentin Moutet had a dream first set. Drop shots galore, lobs, passing shots, crashing slices, and even spoon serves: against the world number 2, the little left-hander deployed his entire range of shots. Enough to make Jannik Sinner go crazy, quickly trailing 5-0 and who had to wait 29 minutes to score his first game.
Although he did not convert two 6-0 balls, Moutet pocketed the first set on his third opportunity. But the Italian quickly caught up, beating him 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.
Corentin Moutet is still chasing a first victory at the expense of a top 10 player. He has just experienced his twelfth defeat against one of his members.
“I beat good players, had good matches, held up physically, had a good level of concentration. I didn’t take any warnings during four matches, which doesn’t happen often to me!”smiled the one who defines himself as “entire”. “I hope people discovered me in a different form.”
