"Nice that he lives in Paris and it's not too far with the taxi": Alexander Bublik sends parting shot to Corentin Moutet in war of words

The Paris Masters clash between Alexander Bublik and Corentin Moutet was highly touted beforehand for the potential needle which was set to occur and it didn't disappoint as the Kazakh revelled in sending him home in a taxi.

Last time they played they offered each other out for a fight and Bublik won 6-4, 7-5 this time around in Paris a far cry from the Challenger they played just in March and also given Moutet's rise too he doesn't have to rely either on wildcards or local support anymore.

But he was hoping for the latter in playing Bublik in words which came back to bite him as the latter ended up hearing them and managed to use it as motivation both in the match as well as his post match barbs towards Moutet which ranged from signing a camera lens to slanging at the net during the handshake.

"We know he’s very provocative with many players, he likes to mock his opponents. I’m going to stay focused on my game, with the help of the crowd," said Moutet yesterday as per Eurosport and L'Equipe.

"We’ve had our differences in the past, let’s just say he doesn’t represent the values I stand for as an athlete in his behavior. But well, we’re all different, and that’s important for tennis too. I’m going to come in highly motivated and try to send him packing."

Safe to say that Bublik heard what Moutet said in the run-up and it motivated him even more to seal the win as he explained why he signed the camera lens with a dig at Moutet.

"Of course, he talked too much before the match, way too much. I had no other choice but to punish him. He said he would do everything to send me home. It's convenient that he lives in Paris, it's not too far by taxi," he said afterwards also referring to him signing the lens saying On the way home.

He also said "Nice seeing you" to Moutet in the handshake and it is a rivalry which has been brewing for a long time. "Ten minutes outside? Let’s go. We have a fight?” Bublik asked.

“The French kid is speaking and he doesn’t want to fight. Let’s go, we meet in 10 minutes outside,” he added. This was at a Phoenix Challenger in March. When they met back then both were about to start the best spell of their career.

Bublik was ranked at World No.82, while Moutet was at World No.79. They've both enjoyed successful seasons with Bublik winning four titles on all three surfaces including Halle where he beat Jannik Sinner. Moutet recently reached the Almaty final losing to Medvedev and the Frenchman despite his barb towards him also praised him.

“He's a very good player. He had wonderful results this year, especially on indoor hard courts. Tennistically, it's going to be hard, but I'm going to focus on my game. We'll see. I'm going to prepare just like any other match,” the Frenchman said.

“I feel that this ranking is more aligned with my game. I knew I could do it, but now, to be part of the top 30 players, you have to fight to play a lot of matches, you have to have a lot of matches under your belt to beat the best, and it wasn't the case for me over the last years for many different reasons.

“I knew that I could do it, but then I had to move up and there was room for improvement. I managed to adjust my game, and I'm proud to have achieved that with my team. Then it's a means to an end. I want to aim higher.”