“He said “pathetic”; I behaved well” – Corentin Moutet explains tense handshake with Nicolas Jarry
SANTIAGO, Chile – Corentin Moutet defeated Nicolás Jarry under boos and jeers, and experienced a tense moment when he met his opponent at the net for the handshake. “He said ‘pathetic’, I don’t know why. I behaved well,” said the Frenchman in conversation with CLAY after his 7-6(5), 7-6(3) win in the Chile Open quarterfinals.
“There were so many people against me, booing, making noise when I was serving. So I think I didn’t do anything ‘pathetic’. I think I survived well, I played good. You should ask him why he said that. We are not exactly best friends on tour, actually I don’t know him well,” explained the left-hander.
While Jarry declined to elaborate on the matter at the press conference, Moutet, expressed disappointment by the actions of the crowd. Fans dismissed him from the court with a loud whistle and made it difficult for him to speak during the on-court interview, despite the 25-year-old tennis player asking for a minute to express himself with the microphone.
“It’s unfortunate because there was not a pleasant atmosphere. I like playing in Chile: in the qualy and in all my matches they supported me because I opened my heart, I gave a lot to the people and shared with them. Sport is made for that. My coach and my family are here, I know what I did right or wrong and today I did everything right”, explained Moutet to CLAY.
Moutet masterclass 🃏@moutet99 defeats home favorite and top seed Nicolas Jarry 7-6 7-6 💥#chileopen pic.twitter.com/wSN2R7AiaR
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 2, 2024
It was a spicy match on center court Jaime Fillol (named after Jarry’s grandfather), with the Frenchman making underarm serves, effusive celebrations from both sides and histrionic protests from the European tennis player when he disagreed with the judge’s decisions. The left-handed player’s characteristic way of living the competition was turning the crownd totally on, and constantly showed their hostility.
At the end of the match, Corentin Moutet celebrated like Novak Djokovic: extending both arms from his chest to the stands, and then bowing with the palms of his hands together.
The Frenchman will play against another Chilean for a ticket to his second ATP final. Facing Alejandro Tabilo, Moutet will surely meet another loud crowd.
Thinking about that challenge, he told CLAY: “It’s sad when you play against Chilean players and people behave like that. I don’t know if the crowd will be smarter. I think if they are more respectfull it would be a better athmosphere for everybody. Even for my oponent it’s not good when there is such a big noise when we are playing. I know Tabilo more because we are closer in age. I’m gonna do my match, he is a great player. We’ll gonna see who is the best”.
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COVER PHOTO: FELIPE ZANCA – PHOTOSPORT
