Nicolas Jarry got totally floored by a ball kid in what was a very strange and accidental collision during his first-round match against France’s Corentin Moutet at the French Open.
The match, which was played in front of a boisterous home crowd on Court Simonne-Mathieu, eventually went Moutet’s way as he clinched a 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-0 victory to seal his progression through to the next round – much to the delight of the fans in Paris.
Amid the raucous cheering and booing, there was some electrifying tennis with dramatic rallies, a few controversies and entertaining shots.
The most memorable incident was perhaps the moment Jarry clashed with a ball kid after Moutet missed the line with an ambitious lob when serving at 5-1 up in the second set.
Jarry, the 16th seed at Roland-Garros, was walking over to retrieve his towel at the side of the court when he collided with the ball kid.
The contact was in itself surprising, but the way the Chilean hit the deck as a result of the knock was even more so. Indeed, he looked in pain as he eventually got back to his feet with his shirt and shorts covered in red dirt.
The less-than-sympathetic French fans proceeded to boo him as he took his time to dust himself down and used his water bottle to clean his dirty hands.
Play did eventually resume, and thankfully, Jarry was not injured as he was able to proceed – albeit he could not deny Moutet and the home supporters as he saw his campaign come to an abrupt end.