Corentin Moutet suggested that "the stress and tension" impacted his shocking decision to go for a tweener in the key moments of a Davis Cup match, and also admitted that he was aware that some would probably think of him as "a clown" after what happened.
In the opening match of the France and Belgium quarterfinal tie at the Davis Cup Final 8, French world No. 35 Moutet took on 86th-ranked Raphael Collignon. After dominating the first set with a 6-2 scoreline, the Frenchman dropped a tight second set 5-7.
With Collignon leading 6-5 in the third set and Moutet serving to stay in the match at 15/15 in the 12th game, the French player hit an outstanding backhand down the line - the Belgian somehow managed to return it but quit on the point after realizing that his rival only needed to routinely place it on his side of the court. But then, something bizarre happened as instead of going for an easy putaway, Moutet went for a tweener - the ball appeared to hit him in the foot - and he lost the point.
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Collignon went on to break Moutet in that game and complete a 2-6 7-5 7-5 win. And after Zizou Bergs beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-3 7-6 (4) in the following rubber, Belgium sealed its win over France and progressed into the Davis Cup semifinal.
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Moutet: Some will probably call me a clown now
What can I say at this moment? I have done it many times in my career, people usually say Im a genius when I do it, but now they will probably call me a clown. Thats how I feel right now," the world No. 35 said.
I think it was the stress, the tension of the match, the excitement, thats why I did what I did. It was in a very tight game, I think thats why I played that shot. Its hard to make the decision, even if people might think its stupid, right now it seems stupid even to me, I dont know what to say. It was an important point, it would have been smarter to finish with a volley, so I cant replay it. If I had to play it again, I would definitely do something else.
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Anyone familiar with Moutet's game knows that the Frenchman is not a stranger to trick shots.
