TWO tennis players had to be separated as one of them almost instigated a fight “outside” the court.
Alexander Bublik and Corentin Moutet butted heads after an intense quarter-final clash last week at the Arizona Tennis Classic.
Bublik, 27, emerged victorious over Moutet, 25, winning 2-6 7-6 (4) 7-5.
Tensions reached boiling point in the closing stages, with the Kazakh star serving for the match at 6-5 in the final set.
Bublik began preparing to serve before the Frenchman had got into position on the other side of the net, who then attempted to slow him down.
Moutet could be heard yelling: “I’m not ready!” And his opponent responding: “I don’t give a s***.”
Bublik’s response was met with laughter from the crowd and the fiery exchange was clearly still on both players’ minds after the game’s conclusion.
A video has now emerged showing the two tennis stars locking horns and having an intense confrontation.
Chair umpire Marta Mrozinska had to step in and separate them along with another supervisor as Bublik was calling Moutet out for a fight.
The Kazakh ace goaded his rival to step “outside” as he was escorted away from the court.
Bublik yelled: “You want to meet outside? Let’s go! You want to fight?!
“The French kid is speaking and he doesn’t want to fight. Let’s go. We meet in 10 minutes outside.”
Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and the situation was quickly diffused.
