Tennis stars Corentin Moutet and Adrian Andreev have been hit with hefty fines over their on-court bust-up, which forced an umpire to intervene.
Moutet and Andreev came to blows at the net following their clash at the recent Open d'Orleans in France. Andreev, ranked 247th in the world, emerged victorious 2-6, 7-6, 7-6, before the two players were involved in a strong handshake before barging into one another, much to the shock of the crowd in Orleans.
The verbals continued as they made their way around the net and they shoved each other again, with their rackets still in hand, before the umpire was forced to get in-between them. Moutet later took to Instagram to slam his opponent and has been handed a second fine by the ATP.
Both players have been hit with hefty fines of £8734 (€10000) while Moutet received an additional £4367 (€5000) bill for his off-court rant on social media.
“I don't want to apologise for what came late in the game,” the world No 69 wrote. “When a player allows himself to say ‘f*** you’ twice looking at me in the eyes, I can't help but make him understand in my own way that these are not things that happen.”
There had been reports that Moutet and Andreev clashed in the locker room after the match, although they were later denied by the Frenchman's coach.
The pair also met in Genoa recently and Andreev suggested the spat between them has been going on for some time.
Andreev said: “He kept provoking me. In Italy he started talking to me and saying ‘what’s your problem?’
"I didn’t have a problem with him. I beat him, and he told me to f*** off at the net. He has a problem with me but I don’t have a problem with him.”
