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 Challenger Tour 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 the court ahead of a return today, Kotov supposedly made a death threat to Moutet.
Moutet, who made the fourth round of the French Open 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 no handshake between them.
Both have a history of controversy – with Moutet involved in a bust-up with Alexander Bublik six weeks ago that saw the Kazakh star offer to “meet in the car park” for a fight.
As for Kotov, he was labelled a “disgrace” at last year’s Australian Open for smashing a ball in anger next to a ballgirl, which left her cowering in terror.
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