In a truly bizarre moment at the Hamburg Open, a French tennis star expressed his frustration over losing a point by stripping off his shorts.
During a Round of 32 match between Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and France’s Corentin Moutet, the Frenchman was caught scrambling to recover after his opponent tried beating him with a lob shot.
Moutet jumped to keep the rally alive, but left Davidovich Fokina with an easy backhand down the line.
Moutet stretched out to save the point, and was able to make the return, but could not recover in time as the Spaniard sent his shot behind the Frenchman to win the point.
While Moutet has developed a reputation for being lively on the ATP tour, his reaction to losing the point shocked many in the crowd as he pulled down his shorts to his ankles.
A few audible gasps, laughs and whistles were heard as Moutet soon pulled his pants back up.
French tennis star Corentin Moutet had a moment of madness during the Hamburg Open
After losing a point, Moutet dropped his shorts in frustration and was assessed a warning
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He was given a warning from the chair umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct before the match continued as normal as it could.
Later in the match, Moutet returned to a more common form of expressing his anger by smashing his racquet against the wall.
Moutet eventually lost the match in straight sets, falling 6-4, 6-4 to his Spanish opponent.
Perhaps surprisingly, this isn’t the first time a tennis player reacted to a point by pulling their pants down.
In the second round at Roland Garros in the 2004 French Open, Russian tennis player Marat Safin celebrated winning a point against Spaniard Felix Mantilla by pulling his shorts down.
Safin was assessed a one-point penalty for the gesture, but still managed to win the match and advanced.
The same result didn’t materialize for Moutet. Meanwhile, Davidovich Fokina will move on to the Round of 16 to face Alex de Minaur.
