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[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-microphone”] Match Recap from Announcer Andy Taylor, Voice of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Moutet defeats 3-time Major Champion to reach his first ATP-Tour Final
You can’t make this stuff up.
20-year-old French qualifier Corentin Moutet is having the week of his life. After a pair of qualifying wins last weekend – he up-ended Tennys Sandgren on Monday and 2016 Wimbledon Finalist Milos Raonic on Wednesday.
This afternoon, he won a deciding-set, 2-hour Quarterfinal over Fernando Verdasco. And tonight, due to Thursday’s wash-out, returned for the Semifinals against 2008 Doha Finalist Stan Wawrinka.
Somehow. Some way. Moutet found a way to win.
Down a set, he traded serves with Wawrinka late into the second, then broke at 6-5 to level the match. In fact, Corentin’s scrappy and creative tactics earned him five straight games before Stan could get back on the board.
A Storybook NextGen Accomplishment
Despite playing twice as much tennis this week, AND going 3-sets with Verdasco earlier today (compared to Stan’s straight-sets win over Bedene) – Corentin Moutet earned the biggest win of his career tonight. Exhaustion be damned, he found a way.
Moutet embraced the “worst case” scenario after Thursday’s rain, playing 6-sets of tennis against two of the sport’s top talents – on the same day – and succeeded.
The reward? Tomorrow night, Corentin will face Andrey Rublev in the Frenchman’s first ATP Tour Final.
The “Tweener-lob” highlight-fest Moutet put-on against Djokovic in November’s Paris Masters wasn’t a one-off. That memorable performance may have been his final match of 2019, but he’s now won six in-a-row in 2020.
The question: Is there enough Moutet left for Rublev?
Day-5. Updated Singles Draw
[/alert]Day-5. Updated Doubles Draw
[/alert][Q] Corentin Moutet -81- (FRA) | Semifinal Announcer Introduction
A 20-year-old Qualifier ranked outside the top-80 – earlier today, he defeated former World #7 Fernando Verdasco – and tonight, is competing in his first career ATP Tour Semifinal. On Wednesday, he upset former World #3 Milos Raonic in two tiebreak sets – and last season, earned his biggest ATP Tour victory to date at Roland Garros, downing World #23 Guido Pella to reach the 3rd-Round of a Major for the first time. Already with 5 wins under his belt to start the new season, he is through to Doha Semifinals in his Qatar ExxonMobil Open debut – From France, this is Corentin Moutet.
▲ SF — def [1] Stan Wawrinka -15- (SUI) | Score: 36 75 63 ▲ QF — def Fernando Verdasco -49- (ESP) | Score: 64 46 64 | RECAP ▲ R2 — def [4] Milos Raonic -32- (CAN) | Score: 76(3) 76(4) | RECAP ▲ R1 — def Tennys Sandgren -68- (USA) | Score: 76(3) 64 | RECAP ▲ QR2 — def Alexei Popyrin -97- (AUS) | Score: 62 64 | RECAP ▲ QR1 — def Andrej Martin -107- (SVK) | Score: 64 64 | RECAP
Announcer Corner | Corentin Moutet
Like most French talents, Corentin Moutet is a solid clay courter. Last May, he cracked the ATP’s top-100 for the first time after a tremendous 3-weeks. At Roland Garros, he reached the 3rd-Round of a Grand Slam for the first time, upsetting Guido Pella in the 2nd-Round. After losing a tough 5-setter to Juan Ignacio Londero, he hopped a train back to Lyon where he won his 4th ATP Challenger title.
At Wimbledon, he won his first three Grand Slam Qualifying matches, then took-out Grigor Dimitrov on Day-1. It was mojo-boosting victory. Down 2-sets to love, Moutet won the third in a tiebreak, allowing Grigor only four games the rest of the way. Though he fell to Felix Auger-Aliassime in Round-2 – by the end of the fortnight, the Frenchman climbed to a career-high ranking of World #80.
A gifted piano player, keep an eye on the maestro in 2020.
[1] Stan Wawrinka -15- (SUI) | Semifinal Announcer Introduction
They call him “Big Match Stan” for a reason. He is a 3-time Grand Slam Champion, a 4-time Major Finalist, an Olympic Gold Medalist, and a Davis Cup Champion. Ranked as high as World #3, he owns 16 career Singles titles – and just 3-months-ago, reached his 30th career Final at the European Open in Antwerp. Competing in his 6th Qatar ExxonMobil Open, he was a Finalist here in Doha 12-years-ago – after earning his first career victory over defending champion Ivan Ljubicic in the 2008 Semifinals. Back on court after a Quarterfinal win over Aljaz Bedene earlier this afternoon – From Switzerland, he is your top-seed, Stan “The Man” Wawrinka.
▼ SF — lost [Q] Corentin Moutet -81- (FRA) | Score: 63 57 36 ▲ QF — def Aljaz Bedene -58- (SLO) | Score: 63 64 | RECAP ▲ R2 — def Jeremy Chardy -54- (FRA) | Score: 63 64 | RECAP ▲ R1 — Bye
Announcer Corner | Stan Wawrinka
Last season, Wawrinka climbed from World #66 in Doha to World #16 by season’s end. He reached two Finals, including Rotterdam and Antwerp – a huge improvement from the year prior. The climb back to the top hasn’t been easy for the 3-time Major Champion. After Wimbledon in 2017, season-ending knee surgery kept him away from the game for 6-months. Stan entered 17 events in 2018 – but with early exits, only played 34 matches. More confident on his surgically enhanced knee in 2019 – he entered 20 events, played 52 matches, and won 33 of them. Big Match Stan is back.
