Moutet overcomes Fritz to get off to a winning start at UTS4
The Frenchman is the first winner at UTS4 and will next meet Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday
Corentin Moutet at UTS4 in 2021
UTS4 – Group A
Moutet beats Fritz: 14-11, 13-12, 14-15, 13-11
- The headline: Corentin “The Tornado” Moutet beat American Taylor “The Hotshot” Fritz three-quarters-to-one
- Other key info: Moutet started strong but withstood a strong fightback form Fitz in the final two quarters.
- Why you should read this story: Moutet is the first player to win a match at UTS4
France’s Corentin Moutet won the opening match at UTS4 after beating American Taylor “Hotshot” Fritz three-quarters-to-one at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France on Monday.
The Tornado wins first two quarters
Moutet, ranked No 70 in the world, got off to a quick start in the match, going up 5-2, and then 7-4, before building up a 12-7 lead. With the clock heading towards zero, Fritz managed narrow the gap a bit, but Moutet was able to win the quarter 14-11.
In the second quarter, it was Hotshot Fritz who got off to a better start, leading 4-2 but Moutet managed to fight back, even as 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams watched in the stands alongside her coach and UTS pioneer Patrick Mouratoglou. Every time the American got ahead by a couple of points, the Tornado found his way back, and finally won the second quarter 13-12.
Fritz fight back but Moutet comes through
After back-to-back double faults to start off the third quarter, Fritz looked to be well on his way to going down in three straight quarters. Leading 5-3, Moutet hit his first underarm serve of the day to win the point and go up 6-3.
At 13-10, Moutet hit another underarm serve, which Fritz returned well to set himself an easy volley to put away. However, Hotshot Fritz missed the volley to go down 10-14. The American did manage to fight back to make it 14-14 and won the deciding point to take the third quarter 15-14.
After Fritz led 2-0 in the fourth quarter, Moutet found a way to catch up once again. The two players stayed pretty even till 11-11, until Moutet managed to win three points in a row to claim the win 14-11, 13-12, 14-15, 13-11.
