WATCH: Moutet booed by Italian crowd after sensational trick shot
ATP
After previous controversies, the 2022 Napoli Cup doesn't have the best reputation, and that didn't improve during a first-round match between Luca Nardi and Corentin Moutet.
Luca Nardi was one of the Italian players in the draw as he received a wild card for the 2022 Napoli Cup. In the first round, he played against Corentin Moutet from France, so it was obvious who the crowd in Naples would support.
Both the 2022 Napoli Cup and Moutet have been involved in a few controversies lately. Therefore, it was not a surprise that there was another one during the Frenchman's first-round match.
While Moutet got previously involved in an on-court fight with his opponent, the ATP 250 event in Italy faced many more problems. First, the tournament's courts were not suitable for a professional tennis event.
Then, retiring Andreas Seppi didn't receive a wild card, and during the first day of the tournament, one of the players got kicked out of his room during the match.
It was a bit less dramatic during Moutet's first match against Nardi, but still the scenes were quite surprising. To the delight of the home crowd, Nardi won the first set 9-7 in a tie-break. The Italian player was down a break three times, so winning the set was a great outcome for him.
In the second set, Nardi trailed his opponent by one break again, but again, he managed to get the set to a tie-break. The first rally of the tie-break proved to be very dramatic, as Moutet pulled one of his trick shots.
After a good serve and subsequent forehand, the Frenchman had an easy shot at the net. He faked a smash and played a drop shot, which didn't make the home crowd happy.
Although Moutet apologized to his opponent and apparently was happy about producing a spectacular shot, he was showered in boos from the Italian crowd. Ultimately, the French player got the last laugh when he won the match 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 6-2.
