‘I’ll have trouble sleeping’ – Tennis star claims rival told him ‘I will kill you’ during match

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.

Corentin Moutet claims his rival threatened to kill himGetty

Pavel Kotov is yet to respond to the allegationsAlamy

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 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.

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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 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 a ballgirl, which left her cowering in terror.