"He's f****d" - After Corentin Moutet's coach's rallying call to have 'hell' waiting for Nicolas Jarry at French Open, duo play out fierce 1R clash

Corentin Moutet of France beat 16th seed Nicolas Jarry of Chile 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-0 in their first-round match at the 2024 French Open. It was one of the biggest upsets on day 1 of Roland-Garros, on Sunday, 26 May, as the unseeded Frenchman prevailed over the Italian Open runner-up quite comfortably.

However, there was much more to it. Moutet and Jarry have had quite an acrimonious relationship following unruly behaviour from the crowd at their match during the Santiago Open earlier this year. The Frenchman had triumphed there too.

Corentin Moutet had to face boorish crowd beahviour in Santiago

The crowd in Santiago had simply refused to accept the result in March this year as Moutet beat Jarry in straight sets. He won both sets through tie-breaks. The home-favorite Jarry was touted to win the tournament and hence, after his loss in the quarterfinal, the Chilean crowd booed Moutet out, continuing even as the Frenchman appeared for his post-match interview on the court.

Neither the 25-year-old nor his coach, Petar Popovic, took this well and vowed to return the favour when the two players were drawn to face each other in the French Captial. Popovic could not stop himself from using expletives while making his decidedly ireful plan public. In an interview with Tennis Majors, he said,

"The fans (in Santiago) were behaving like a bunch of animals, the worst possible behaviour you can get at a tennis match. It was like football, they insulted Corentin non-stop. They swore at him between points, they booed or whistled as he was about to serve.

When (Corentin) went to the toilet after the first set, some fans even threatened him. Then I had to threaten them, so they changed their tune. Really ugly atmosphere to play in, and we basically had two-three members of security, around 65 years old, by us."

He then fired a warning to the Chilean regarding the then-upcoming match at Roland-Garros, saying,

"All in all – Sunday, he (Jarry) is f****d! He made his own bad.

We won that match in Santiago, but we were so disgusted with everything that we even had a conversation: 'When he comes to Paris, there will be hell waiting.' And I really hope that the hell will await, so that Jarry grows sick of tennis at least for a few weeks."

Moutet himself did not mince words on the matter, informing via his Instagram account,

“Revenge against Jarry at Roland-Garros. I remember well the welcome they gave me at their home (Chile Open). I hope you guys are eager to show him that this time we are locals. Be ready and be loud. This is Paris."

Thus, the match between the two had one of the most heated build-ups in recent times and then lived up to the billing, too, as the more partisan of the French crowd gave Jarry some torrid stretches during the face-off.

Jarry was booed at Roland-Garros at regular intervals

It was not only Moutet's forehand and excellent drop shots that gave Jarry problems in the match. The crowd at Roland-Garros cheered almost every point won by the Frenchman with extra vigour and also booed the 28-year-old Chilean periodically.

The fact that Jarry was served a bagel in the final fourth set after having come back from being two sets down initially may also have been partly due to the crowd's hostile beahviour. Given the bad blood between the two already, the French crowd seemed eager to return the favor. It might even increase in the coming days, though everyone involved must realize that it is not healthy for the sport in general.