Corentin Moutet’s disappointing start to the clay-court season continued on Monday as he suffered a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round of the Hamburg Open. The Frenchman showed his frustration in a bizarre way, losing his temper several times during the defeat.
Corentin Moutet Loses Cool At Hamburg Open In Bizarre Tantrum
Moutet came into the Hamburg Open looking to improve his form after a 3-5 start to the clay-court season. While he showed some flashes of his brilliance, the world No. 32 was handed a 6-4, 6-4 defeat by Davidovich Fokina.
After losing a point to the Spaniard due to an unforced error after a long rally in the first set, Moutet appeared to get so frustrated that he smashed his racket onto the advertisement boards. Later in the first set, he dropped his shorts in the middle of the court in yet another moment of frustration after losing another point.
“Moutet was mad – first, an angry throw of the racquet, late after losing a point, he pulled down his shorts,” a fan wrote on X while sharing pictures of Moutet’s meltdown.
mad Moutet was mad – first, an angry throw of the racquet, late after losing a point, he pulled down his shorts… pic.twitter.com/8gr6wfA1Ca
— Del🇪🇺 (@Stroppa_Del) May 18, 2026
Moutet created plenty of chances during the match but couldn’t capitalize on them. He had some promising moments and played some sublime shots, but failed to convert any of his 13 break-point opportunities, allowing his opponent to clinch a straight-sets victory.
moutet si smutanda reaction video #tennis pic.twitter.com/aIlf3l9Ubb
— carmen🌙🪩ིྀ (@_supercutofus) May 18, 2026
This bizarre sequence of events comes just a month after his confrontation with a fan in Morocco. Amid his clay-court struggles, Moutet also faced criticism for serving underarm consecutively at the Madrid Open this year. He also smashed his racket and retired after an outburst during his first-round match at the Madrid Open last year.
The season so far has certainly not gone according to plan for Moutet, who now has a 6-11 record in 2026. His best run of the year so far came at the Challenger event in Phoenix, where he reached the semifinals.
Moutet will now hope to put this incident behind him and turn his focus to the French Open. The 27-year-old will head to Paris aiming to recreate his run in 2024, when he made the fourth round at Roland Garros. His overall record on clay stands at 36-51 following this latest defeat.
The 2026 French Open will get underway on Sunday, with the draw ceremony scheduled for Thursday.
