The 2022 Challenger Orleans witnessed a massive physical altercation on Thursday as Corentin Moutet and Adrian Andreev were involved in a fight after their fixture. The top-seeded Frenchman was handed a shock loss in front of his home crowd in the second-round clash as Andreev registered a 6-2, 7-6, 7-6 win in three sets.
During their customary greeting at the net at the end of the match, Andreev greeted Moutet with a slightly firm handshake, which wasn’t liked by the World No.64. The French player reacted with a shoulder push and then shoved him by grabbing him near the throat. The pair traded blows for a few more seconds before the chair umpire separated them.
After the match, Frenchman took to Instagram to address the incident. “I don't want to apologize for what happened late in the game,” Moutet said (comments translated from French). “When a player allows himself to say "fuck you" twice while looking me in the eye, I can't help but make him understand in my own way that these are not things that are done.”
Moutet believes that he was threatened by Andreev and asked to meet him off the court. “He threatened me and asked me to wait for him at the exit of the court ... something I did of course I have trouble finding him for 10 minutes,” Moutet said. “Indeed he was hidden on the other side behind 6 security people.”
“I heard your threats so when you get out of the room they hid you in I will be very happy to see you carry them out,” he said. “So I'm waiting for you impatiently, we can talk calmly. I did my best, I would have liked to go further to honour it better,” he said. “I'm sorry for it.”