Last month, French tennis player Corentin Moutet was cautioned for unsportsmanlike conduct for pulling down his shorts after losing a point at the Hamburg Open.
This month, a new flavor of his eccentricity emerged that ended up costing him financially. Reports on Friday said Moutet was fined $40,000 for what the ATP called “unsportsmanlike conduct” after using “profane language”.
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Moute, 27, dropped a whopping seven F-bombs in less than a minute during his post-match interview on Tuesday after defeating fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpesi Pellicard 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the Round of 32 of the ATP HSBC Championship at Queen’s Club in west London.
“Mutet confirms that he will appeal the fine in accordance with ATP regulations,” an ATP statement said, via The Athletic.
“The appeal will be considered by the ATP Tour Compliance Committee. No further comment will be made while the appeal process is ongoing.”
After a match in which Moute, ranked 36th in the ATP rankings, brought in the big-serving 22-year-old Mpesi Perikal, BBC interviewer Jenny Drummond asked Moute about the difficulty of returning Mpesi Perikal’s 142mph second serve.
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Moute let out a slight laugh.
“That’s really frustrating,” he said with a laugh. “When I had match point, I was hitting my second serve. OK, aim for the middle. Whatever you do, just put the ball in your court.”
“And he hit me with 142 pitches, and I was like, ‘Fuck it. I’m going to have to serve.'”
Moutet seemed to realize he had let the curse slip when the crowd reacted with laughter.
Then Drummond said, “No F-bomb please.”
Immediately defiant and perhaps reveling in the joy of victory, Moute responded three more times with “Fuck, damn, damn.”
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Drummond pulled the microphone away and quickly said, “No, no, no” as fans continued to rain laughter on him.
“I have one more question,” Mr. Drummond said. “Everyone, I’m sorry for my bad language. I’m going to ask you one more question, so please keep it clean, okay?”
Mr Moutet appears to have granted the request.
But then, when Drummond asked him how he felt when Moutet won on grass, he continued his buffoonery.
“Fuck, damn, damn,” Mutet repeated indignantly.
Once again, the audience seemed confused and humored at the same time.
Drummond, on the other hand, was understandably concerned given the disruption to the normally sophisticated and child-friendly atmosphere.
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“Okay, Corentin, we need to improve that for the next round,” she said. “Everyone, I’m sorry.”
The Athletic reported that Moutet later said in an Instagram comment that it was “just a joke” and that he “hopes no one is offended.”
He lost to Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the round of 16 on Thursday.
