Corentin Moutet was in top form this afternoon, but not because of his tennis.
Instead, the lively character will likely make headlines for his theatrical antics throughout the match, particularly as it neared its conclusion.
As the clash reached boiling point and Jacob Fearnley neared the finish line, it felt like Moutet was unravelling.
This was perfectly evidenced in a third-set incident which one commentator suggested might land him in ‘all sorts of trouble’.
Corentin Moutet reacts angrily to being broken by Jacob Fearnley
Having been broken by the Scotsman in the second set, Moutet was furious. He exhibited this by launching one of the balls outside of the Andy Murray Arena.
Sam Smith, the lead commentator, claimed: ‘There’s been an ongoing dialogue over the last 90 minutes or so between Corentin and umpire Nour.
‘And a chance for Fearnley to break here… And he’s got it!
‘Moutet is going to be in all sorts of trouble here.’
John Lloyd then chimed in, adding: ’Well, he certainly made sure he didn’t hit anybody with that ball in the stand. He hit it about half a mile away. This one went a long way up.
‘You have to be careful when you do that. I remember in the Davis Cup, [Denis] Shapovalov did that, didn’t get the angle right and smacked it straight at the umpire.’
Smith then noted: ‘The minute you start pinging the ball around, even if it’s at the back netting or into the stand, you’re in big trouble. That’s an automatic warning. It was very good umpiring from Adel Nour who’s tried to defuse the situation, it’s always going to be tricky.
‘With Corentin, he is the sort of enfant terrible of French tennis. He lives up to that label.’
‘Any more infringements and he’ll be deducted a point, then it’s a game, then it’s a default. Let’s hope we don’t get anywhere near that kind of chart sheet.’
Unsurprisingly, the home support jeered and booed such an action from the pantomime villain of the afternoon.
The Queen’s crowd revelled in Corentin Moutet’s fury
In typically British fashion, the Queen’s crowd revelled in Moutet’s growing frustration.
Particularly in his final service game, the Frenchman grew more and more angered by the chattering from the stands, made worse when one fan exclaimed that he wanted to ‘go home’.
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
Drawing laughs from the rest of the crowd, Moutet was not happy, yet was handed a time violation for his complaints to the umpire at this distraction.
This only increased the mischief from the London support, particularly when the 26-year-old did a 360 spin whilst hitting one of his shots. He then launched into a tirade during the changeover, before Fearnley served out the match in the following game.
This marks another notch in the Jacob Fearnley story, which is only going from strength to strength.