In Madrid, it is not unusual for players to face various provocations from fans in the stands. And it was them that Moutet repeatedly complained about during the match. And he even demanded from the supervisor that one of those present be taken off the premises.
In the second set, the Chinese teenager broke Moutet’s serve and served for a 2-0 lead. And at that moment, the Frenchman complained for the first time that one of the fans shouted at him: “Shut up.”
“This is unacceptable. It’s this guy (pointing to the auditorium). I didn’t talk to him at all. I was talking to another one in green (pointing to another fan). And he will tell me to shut up,” he appealed to the supervisor.
“So you take him and throw him out of the stadium and he’s never coming back here. Because it is impossible for him to treat the players like this,” Moutet insisted.
The referee offered to call security. “No, I don’t need security. I’m not afraid of him. Just throw him out, this is really unacceptable. He can’t tell a player to shut up,” insisted the Frenchman.
Moments later, at 0:3 and 15:15, Moutet interrupted the game and started yelling that one of the fans had poured water on him. But the referee declared a point for the Chinese. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. He pours water on me, so I broke the exchange,” protested the 88th player in the world.
But that was not all. During the match, he also demanded the referee to bring him coffee. She refused, saying that she doesn’t offer anything like that. However, Moutet still got a chance when someone from the audience gave him a coffee.
His troubles culminated in the key tie break in the third set, when at 5:5, when he looked like a racket while serving and then out of desperation he played the ball with his foot. He ended up losing the shortened game 10:12 and finished the tournament.
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