Corentin Moutet's opening match at the Madrid Open came to an abrupt end when he suddenly retired after receiving a point penalty. The Frenchman destroyed his racket after losing a point in the second set and was handed a code violation, losing a point as punishment. He refused to play on, walking to the net and shaking hands with both the umpire and his opponent.

Moutet had already traded words with some fans, walking into the stands and then telling them to "leave the stadium" earlier in the set. And boos and whistles rang out around Court 6 as soon as the spectators realised he was throwing in the towel. It means fellow French star Harold Mayot advances with a 6-3 4-2 ret. victory, earning his first win at Masters 1000 level.

For better or worse, it’s never a dull day when Moutet is on the court. The world No. 82 is known for his antics - last month, an umpire had to step in when he started arguing with Alexander Bublik at the end of one of their Challenger matches.

The 26-year-old was also penalised when he delayed his recent Miami Open clash, demanding that a spectator be thrown out, and he was defaulted from a match in Adelaide three years ago.

There was more drama when he took to the court in Madrid on Wednesday, facing countryman Mayot, who made it into the main draw through qualifying.

Moutet lost the first set and started airing his frustrations early in the second set, appearing to take issue with some spectators.

At 2-2, he started ranting towards chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani. “I’m doing my job, I’m playing man, I’m not doing anything wrong,” he said.

The Frenchman threw in an underarm serve to get broken and then appeared to walk into the crowd, disappearing behind some stands. At the changeover, he continued his argument with Lahyani.

The umpire eventually called time, but Moutet continued the discussion. Eventually, he retreated to the baseline to continue playing, but he continued shouting towards the crowd, appearing to be unhappy with some spectators.

“Leave if you’re not happy. Leave the stadium, there is plenty courts,” the 26-year-old said before Lahyani stepped in, reminding the crowd to be quiet during play.

But it was too late - both Moutet and the fans wouldn’t listen, and he threw his racket into the back of the court after going 15-40 down in Mayot’s service game.

Some spectators started jeering, and Moutet responded by bending his racket in half and sauntering over to his bench as the umpire announced a code violation and point penalty, which gave Mayot the game.

Moutet offered the broken racket to a fan in the front row but put it on his bench and shook hands with the umpire, calling it quits. He walked to the other side of the net for a handshake with Mayot as boos rang out around the stands.

The 26-year-old packed his bags and threw his racket in the bin, and the booing continued as he walked off the court. When he finally left, the fans started cheering and blowing whistles.

Mayot is now through to the second round to race 20th seed Francisco Cerundolo. This is only the third time the 23-year-old has played a Masters 1000 event, and he now has his first victory.