Frances Tiafoe directed an expletive-filled tirade at a chair umpire after losing his third-round match Tuesday at the ATP Shanghai Masters event.
Tiafoe lost to unseeded Roman Safiullin, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5), minutes after Ecuadorian chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote called a time violation on the 13th-seeded American’s service.
After congratulating Safiullin at the net, Tiafoe pointed at Pinoargote and shouted, “F— you man! F— you! Seriously, man. F— you! You f—ed me out of the f—ing match!”
Tiafoe initially protested with the final-set tiebreak tied at 5-5, when Pinoargote called him for the time violation, which cost the American his serve. Tiafoe had tossed the ball in the air, though it was unclear if it was an attempt to serve.
“No, no, I tossed the ball up. … I was ready to serve,” Tiafoe said to Pinoargote. “Dude, that’s the rule.”
“I’m not buying it, it’s the second serve,” responded Pinoargote, who then ended the exchange by announcing “second serve” into the microphone.
Tiafoe went on to lose the point and eventually the match. The ATP did not immediately comment on the incident, but Tiafoe likely will face a fine, according to the tour’s rulebook.
Safiullin next will face world No. 4 Novak Djokovic, who beat Flavio Cobolli in straight sets to move closer to his 100th career ATP title.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
