The ATP Tour have fined Corentin Moutet £30,000 after a foul-mouthed interview with the BBC following his first-round win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the HSBC Championships. The Frenchman soared to a 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 win over his fellow countryman at Queens on Tuesday, and failed to contain his excitement in the aftermath.
Speaking with Jenny Drummond in the aftermath, the 27-year-old said: “The guy is playing incredible. He’s an amazing player. It was so much pressure because every point is very important because he’s serving that good that he puts so much pressure on my service game.
“I’m so happy to make it today. It’s been a long last two months so I’m happy to get a win here. Thanks to all of you for coming both days and I’m very happy to get the win here today.”
When asked about a 142mph second serve from Mpetshi Perricard, he accidentally cursed as he said: “That’s so frustrating. When I had match point I was on the second serve, you aim in the middle, whatever you do just put the ball in the court and then he hits me with 142. I was like, ‘F***, I will have to serve.'”
When asked by Drummond to refrain from swearing, Moutet doubled down in jest, saying: “F***, f***, f***,” as the interviewer replied: “No, no, no!”
Drummond then took a serious stance as she asked him to keep it clean for her final question. However, when Moutet was queried on what it was like to get his first win on the grass, he simply replied: “F***, f***, f***.”
Drummond was forced to issue an apology as she moved swiftly away from the player, adding: “OK. Corentin we need to improve that for the next round. Apologies everyone. Corentin Moutet.”
While Corentin later posted on social media that he was “just joking” when he made the comments, it didn’t prevent him from feeling the full wrath of the ATP Tour. In a statement on Friday, the Tour wrote: ” Following the use of profane language by Corentin Moutet during his post-match interview after his first-round match at the HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club in London this week, the player has received a fine of $40,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“Moutet has confirmed that he will appeal the fine in accordance with ATP rules. The appeal will be reviewed by the ATP Tour Compliance Committee. No further comment will be made while the appeal process is ongoing.”
Thanks to his win over Mpetshi Perricard, Moutet advanced to the round of 16 at the HSBC Championships where he met Alejandro Davidovich. His tournament came to a close in that match, which took place on Thursday, crashing out in a 6-4, 6-3 loss.