Corentin Moutet, 83rd in the world this Monday, took advantage of the help of part of the public to overthrow Roman Saffiulin, 39th in the world. Trailing 6-3 at the end of the first set, the Frenchman fought until the tie-break of the second set, winning 7 points to 1, to finally win the match in three sets (3-6, 7-6(1), 6-2).
The second round will be complicated for the Habs, who will face Novak Djokovic, back after his withdrawal in Madrid. The world number 1 was exempted from the first round and will try to win on Roman soil to arrive with confidence at Roland-Garros.
“Since I was little, I have been training to play this kind of matches, I have already played (against) Nadal at Roland, (against) Djokovic at Bercy and I am playing it again,” declared Moutet who overthrew Russian Roman Safiullin 3-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 in the first round on Thursday. During their first confrontation, during the Masters 1000 at Paris-Bercy in 2019, Moutet, 25, competed with the Serbian who won 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.
“I’m going to come out on the pitch to win like I’ve done every time. Even if I am not the favorite, from the moment I enter the field, I will do everything to beat him, I think that is a way of respecting him,” he continued.
