He lost track of this meeting several times, exasperated at not being able to conclude this match “unlosable” in his own word belched on the court. But Corentin Moutet managed to remobilize to win his first round of 16 in a Grand Slam. The 23-year-old Frenchman has come a long way in this US Open, eliminated in qualifying by the Chinese Wu Yibing. He finds himself at a level he had never tasted.
Friday, the lucky-loser had a real chance which presented itself with Pedro Cachin, 27 years old but novice at this level in Grand Slam. The first round was also one-sided with a twirling and inspired Frenchman, suffocating and precise. Very quickly, on one of his well-hit lobs which would give his opponent cold sweats throughout the meeting, he made the break. He missed his chance to quickly drive the point home but no matter, he completed this round without shaking on a resounding “Come on”.
An unwelcome first-ball failure
And then he misplaced the simple, no-frills script he was writing. A few forced shots, he who felt the ball so well for the first 40 minutes, cost him his service game (on the first opportunity of the Cachin match) and a first ball failure totally unsupported him. Enough to give a totally different dimension to this duel. His racquet flew before he kicked it. “I don’t know what to do to just feel good, I can’t do it”he blurted in the direction of his trainer Laurent Raymond, flanked by Sébastien Grosjean and Paul-Henri Mathieu.
“Looks like there’s a movie about me, I’m super sexy that’s it”
Corentin Moutet to a cameraman
His copy covered with erasures no longer looked like much and Cachin, he woke up the clusters of Argentine supporters who had invited themselves into the stands of court 17 to raise the temperature. Moutet’s annoyance was not going to leave him and everyone went through it before the match ended. The referee who has not judged the machine that judges the lines: “You don’t even know if the ball is fair or foul. But if the machine is wrong? It’s very annoying. » Or the cameraman who filmed the Frenchman a little too close to a change of side. “ Looks like there’s a movie about me, I’m super sexy right? », he asked her, a bit annoyed. And of course, he turned his anger on himself when he lost serve twice in the early fourth set. Verdict: “I’m doing two asshole games. »
But fortunately for Moutet, in the midst of this verve and these incessant monologues which he is accustomed to, he did not only deliver games of this caliber. Leaving the court between the second and third sets did him the greatest good. He came back remobilized, seasoning Cachin with violent strikes and shots played with subtlety. It was also on a superbly shot backhand passing that he took control of the match. Before suddenly losing his impulse and finding himself back against the wall in the fourth act.
Ruud next round
At 0-4, he was once again able to bounce back and finally take control of this meeting that kept escaping him. He was late, in the fight, still exasperated but dictating the game until he saw a last ball come out of his Argentinian opponent. Cachin’s 45th unforced error, the Frenchman committed 43 (47 winning shots). Symbol of this erratic encounter where Moutet has always seemed master of his destiny. He had to master his emotions and his demons, he did. And offered himself a superb challenge. Casper Ruud now awaits him in the round of 16. History to continue to write history, and so much the worse for the burrs and the errors.