The second match in Aix-en-Provence saw back-to-back French upsets, if you go by seeding. Borna Coric conquered Rinderknech in a heated straight-set battle, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Rinderknech struck nine aces to Coric’s zero, but the Croat won all first-serve points in the second set to maintain an unbeaten record against the Frenchman.
The final Frenchman to take the court was Moutet, who began Thursday by completing his first-round match against Pavel Kotov. The two battled to 7-5, 3-6, 5-5 on Wednesday—during which Moutet reported receiving death threats from Kotov.
Upon restarting, Moutet won eight of ten points to edge out the Russian. There was no handshake exchanged between the two players at net.
