American tennis star Frances Tiafoe continued to perform well during her summer schedule. Tiafoe reached the finals of the Cincinnati Open, but lost to Jannik Sinner, winner of this year's Australian Open and US Open and currently ranked No. 1 in the world. Tiafoe then reached the semi-finals of the US Open, but lost to a fellow American in five sets. Taylor Fritz.
But his stellar run came to an end sooner than expected at the Shanghai Open, with a profanity-filled rant directed at the referee after the match.
Tiafoe faced unseeded Roman Safiurin in the third round and lost 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5). The match ended minutes later when referee Jimmy Pino-Argoto called for a time violation on Tiafoe's serve. Tiafoe was serving during the final set tiebreak, tied at 5-5. That's when Pino Argote called him for a time violation, costing Tiafoe's serve. Tiafoe tossed the ball in the air, but it was unclear whether it was meant to serve.
You can see that moment in this clip.
“No, no, I was the one who threw the ball. … I was ready to serve,” Tiafoe told the referee. “Hey, those are the rules.”
“I'm not buying it, it's a second serve,” Pino Argote replied.
Tiafoe lost the point and the match was ultimately over. After shaking hands with Safiurin, he walked towards Pino Argote and instead of shaking hands with the referee as was customary, Tiafoe said:
The rant initially drew laughter from the crowd, but the laughter died down when Tiafoe continued. “Y-you! y-you! Seriously, man. y-you,” cried Tiafoe. “You kicked me out of the game!”
Tiafoe, currently the 13th ranked men's singles player in the world, could be fined $60,000 for the abuse. ATP rulebook Section governing conduct in the Masters 1000 tournament.
