By james art The eccentric 25-year-old player often shows his anger on the court and does not hide his frustration as it is not the first time he has broken his racket. The world number 70 found himself at the center of one of those moments again, this time in front of his home crowd in Paris.
The Frenchman was trailing 2-4 in the first set against world number 19 Ben Shelton when he showed his frustration with repeated unforced errors. Moutet broke his racquet above his knee, prompting boos from the crowd that had been cheering him just moments before.
He then went to the bench to get a new racket and just as he was about to put the broken one down, he handed it to a fan who reached for it. Shortly after, chair referee Aurelie Tourte issued him a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The French lost the first set 6-3. However, he rekindled the hopes of the home crowd after saving a couple of match points in the second set tiebreak, taking him to the third set 7-6(8). In the end, Shelton showed his superiority, closing out the win 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-3 to move into the second round, where he awaits his next opponent.