"I tell myself that I'm a clown," regrets Moutet after his defeat against Collignon

Corentin Moutet could have put his team on the path to qualifying for the Davis Cup quarter-finals against Belgium, but he ended up losing to Raphaël Collignon.

The French team was beaten by Belgium in the Davis Cup quarter-finals and will not reach the final four. Before Arthur Rinderknech's defeat to Zizou Bergs, it was Moutet who lost in a nail-biter against Collignon.

The match ultimately turned in the Belgian's favor, even though the Frenchman had made an interesting start. Questioned about his famous between-the-legs shot at 5-6, 15-15 in the second set, which he lost despite having all the options available to finish the point, Moutet expressed his regrets in the press conference.

"I played a bad game; it wasn't just that shot. I double-faulted, I missed a volley even though I wasn't trying to do anything complicated, I still missed it. There are also those kinds of balls that are frustrating.

When you're tense, when you're caught up in emotions, everyone expresses it differently. Some will double-fault, some will make bad choices. In the past, I've already attempted and succeeded with that shot, people said it was incredible.

And when I miss it, of course they're going to say I'm a clown. It's a bit harsh too, but that's also how I feel. When I miss that shot and then, in the end, I lose the match, I tell myself that I'm a clown, that I should have maybe done something else.

Especially when there are teammates on the sidelines who believe in me, who trust me... It's very hard to be clear-headed in that situation. But it's certain that the volley would have been a wiser choice at that moment. The conditions were fast, it was important to take control of the game.

But I became more and more defensive as the match went on, that's what I lacked in the match. Afterwards, when you're tense, it's also hard to always go forward, especially since I wasn't feeling great. I missed a lot today.

And when you start missing a lot, there are always questions about what you do. Do you play further from the lines, with more safety, or do you keep going for it? The state in which I play my best, I couldn't find it today. And he played better and better. He missed less and less.

It's a moment of tension, you can replay the whole story. Unfortunately, it's over, those choices, I made them, good or bad. Rather bad for that shot, that time, but it's done.

I didn't play a good match, I'm disappointed. I wanted to play a good match. Especially at the end of the year, I was feeling good, I wanted to honor the trust that was placed in me. I didn't manage to do it," Moutet told L'Équipe.