"I was becoming less and less aggressive," regrets Moutet after his defeat against Vukic in Metz
After missing two match points, Corentin Moutet was ultimately beaten by Aleksandar Vukic in the first round of the Metz tournament. A terrible scenario for the Frenchman, who was also in a good position in the third-set tie-break.
Moutet had started well and found himself very close to reaching the round of 16 in the final edition of the Metz tournament. Against Vukic, the Frenchman led the race in the third set, created two match points before leading 5 points to 1 in the decisive tie-break of the third set.
But in the end, it was the Australian who qualified (3-6, 7-6, 7-6 in 2h42). The main person involved reacted to his cruel defeat just minutes after the end of the match in a press conference.
"It's complicated. First of all, he played well, I think. He's a good player, especially on indoor hard courts. There were many moments where I was leading and didn't have much success. After that, could I have played better? I think so. I was becoming less and less aggressive.
I was increasingly on the defensive. He was the opposite, and I struggled to turn it around. I should have perhaps been more aggressive with my forehand, like I was in the first set, because I felt he didn't really have many solutions. I think that's what made the difference.
I really tried to give my all in the match with the means I had that day. But he played his match too. So, it would be taking credit away from him to say that I was the one who missed my opportunity," Moutet assured L'Équipe.
