UMVA has learned that French tennis player Corentin Moutet sparked outrage during a post-match interview at Queen's, uttering a string of expletives that left presenter Clare Balding stunned.
Moutet's provocative language came on the heels of a grueling, nearly three-hour match against fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, which Moutet won 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 to advance to the second round.
As Moutet expressed his relief and admiration for Perricard's skills, his tone shifted dramatically when asked about the challenge of returning Perricard's notoriously powerful serve.
Moutet's frustration boiled over, and he let loose with a string of profanities, saying "That's so frustrating... When I had a match point, I was on the second serve, thinking: 'Okay, he hit me in the middle. Whatever you do, you just put the ball in the court'. And then he hits me with a 142 mph serve and I was like, f*, I will have to serve out [for the match]."
The on-camera interview took a chaotic turn, with Moutet continuing to use explicit language, prompting presenter Jenny Drummond to apologize for his outburst.
Moutet's responses only grew more colorful, with the Frenchman jokingly saying "F*x, f*, f*" when handed the microphone back, and repeating the phrase when asked a final question about his victory.
The broadcast quickly cut back to a visibly taken aback Clare Balding, who added her apologies for the foul language, describing Moutet as living up to his "bad boy image."
Moutet's next match is set to be against either Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Britain's Cam Norrie, with the Frenchman's reputation for creating chaos on and off the court likely to precede him.
