Corentin Moutet called out the ATP for refusing his scheduling request after he left hospital at 10pm the night before his first-round match. The world No. 88 went on to lose to Shang Juncheng in a brutal three-hour and 59-minute contest and raised concerns about his “weakened” body.
Moutet found himself embroiled in a late-night thriller on Wednesday as Shang narrowly beat him 6-7(9) 6-2 7-6(10) in a match that ended after midnight. The Frenchman stepped onto the court less than 24 hours after leaving the hospital and later claimed that he didn’t think he would be able to play.
After losing the four-hour thriller, the 25-year-old took to social media to blast the ATP for refusing his request to wait another day for his first-round match. “I didn’t think I would be able to play today having left the hospital the day before at 10pm,” Moutet tweeted, also thanking the public and congratulating Shang.
“My request to have a day off at @atptour was refused which would have allowed me to heal myself so I could perhaps run forward.”
Moutet is now concerned that he could have aggravated his injury by playing such a taxing match so soon after visiting the hospital. He added: “Despite everything I gave everything but it wasn’t enough. Thanks for the support. I have to take care of myself and hope I haven’t made my injury worse today. Even when the body is weakened the heart is still there.”
The world No. 88 was also involved in an unusual moment during the contest as he requested a coffee mid-match. “I saw Wawrinka, I saw them even do it on Tennis TV, they do it, they ask for a coffee. You can’t bring me a coffee because what, I’m playing on Court 4? Tell me,” he ranted.
