World No. 76 Corentin Moutet has issued a statement regarding the incident that occurred during his second-round match at the Miami Masters against Alejandro Tabilo (7-5, 3-6, 5-7).
As a reminder, the French player was penalized a point for refusing to play (he demanded the removal of a disruptive fan from the stands) and a game for an offensive gesture directed at a spectator.
`I see that my match with Tabilo is still being widely discussed. I`ve decided to clarify once and for all what actually happened and put this episode behind me.
From the very first point, the fans were hostile towards me: they were noisy during my serve, whistled, insulted me, and provoked me with gestures. Those who watched the match can confirm that for a full hour and a half I did not react in any way. But as the match went on, the atmosphere became more and more aggressive.
After two hours, having not seen any attempts from the umpire to calm the stands, I raised my hands three times, urging the spectators to make even more noise. At that moment, someone showed me the middle finger from the stands. I decided that an athlete should not have to endure such behavior on the court, and I asked the judge to remove the person before continuing the game. He refused to listen to me and ordered me to play. Then I demanded to call the supervisor, stating that I would not continue the match while this person was in the stadium. The judge penalized me, which caused me to lose the set.
After the supervisor arrived, I explained the situation to him. He left, then returned and said: someone (he refused to say who) claims that I showed the middle finger. Therefore, I was penalized again: a game penalty at the beginning of the third set, essentially gifting my opponent a break.
After the match, I received a huge amount of criticism and insults. I would be lying if I said that it didn`t affect me. I have always given my all, spent an incredible amount of energy and made sacrifices to achieve my goals. I have learned to accept pain as part of the journey, but I don`t want to believe that being a public figure means always being wrong and deserving of hatred.
I emphasize: in this match I did not offend anyone and did not show disrespect to anyone. The only thing I did was raise my hands three times, urging the audience to make noise. I did not say a single rude word, did not make a single disrespectful gesture.
I am particularly upset that when someone gets into a difficult situation, the first reaction of many is to push them even deeper, instead of offering support. This applies even to people from my country and those who watched the match.
I hope that someday the ATP will better protect players and prevent such situations. I hope we will have fewer five-figure fines and more security – both on the court and in social networks.
I just had to tell you the truth,` Moutet tweeted.
