A TENNIS star has claimed his rival threatened to kill him during a shock mid-match confrontation.
French player Corentin Moutet has made the allegations against Russian ace Pavel Kotov.
The pair met in the first round of a event last night in the city of Aix en Provence, just 20 miles outside of Marseille.
It was a lengthy encounter and the score was poised in a deciding set at 7-5, 3-6, 5-5 when light faded and play was suspended.
As both trudged off ahead of a return today, Kotov supposedly made a death threat to Moutet.
Moutet, who made fourth round of the last year, alleged in a now-deleted post that his opponent said: “Next time you come to the net, I’ll kill you.One day, someone will kill you.”;
He added: “There wasn’t even a warning. Apparently, those words are allowed on court.
“How do you (the ATP) expect me not to get involved if you don’t do your job?”;
After axing the tweet, Moutet responded to a news account posting about his allegations, replying: “I’m going to have trouble sleeping.”;
Kotov, who was ranked world No50 last summer, has not responded to the claims.
The match continued this morning and Moutet sealed victory 7-5.
He celebrated wildly and there was between them.
Both have a history of controversy – with Moutet involved in a bust-up with Alexander Bublik six weeks ago that saw Kazakhstar offer to .
As for Kotov, he was labelled a “disgrace”; at last year’s for , which left her cowering in terror.
