Frances Tiafoe apologises after shouting ‘f*** you’ at umpire
Frances Tiafoe has issued an apology to umpire Jimmy Pinoargote, after swearing at the Ecuadorian following his defeat at the Shanghai Masters.
Tiafoe was beaten by World No.61 Roman Safiullin, 5-7 7-5 7-6(5), in three hours and six minutes at the penultimate ATP Masters 1000 tournament of 2024.
However, the main talking point of the match came at 5-5 in the deciding set tie-break, with Tiafoe serving having already faced a time violation warning earlier in the match.
The American tossed the ball up without hitting it in what appeared to be an attempt to buy time, but chair umpire Pinoargote did not appear to be buying it.
Moment which lead to Tiafoe lashing out on the umpire.
Umpire gave him time violation warning and took his first serve away.
He said ‘I’m not buying it, this is now second serve’
Tiafoe said ‘ I tossed the ball, this is the rule’
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) October 8, 2024
Tiafoe was then awarded another time violation and lost his first serve, much to his annoyance, before losing the next two points and subsequently the match.
This all boiled over after the match, with Tiafoe refusing to shake the hand of the umpire and shouting, “F*** you man. F*** you. Seriously man. You f***ed me the f***ing match. Three f***ing hours and you’re going to do that. Why? You f***ed the match up. Great f***ing job. F***.”
When Frances Tiafoe thinks he’s Robert De Niro 🤬
(defeat vs Safiullin 5-7 7-5 7-6)pic.twitter.com/qjcSHHQRxv
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) October 8, 2024
This incident has received a lot of traction, with Tiafoe being criticised for his actions by many across social media and beyond.
And the World No.17 appears to have reflected on his behaviour, releasing a statement on Instagram to apologise, “I really apologise for the way I acted tonight. That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people. I let the frustration in the heat of the moment get the best of me and I’m extremely disappointed with how I handled the situation.
“That’s not acceptable behaviour and I want to apologise to the umpire, the tournament, and the fans. I’ll be better for y’all.”
Inside the baseline…
There is absolutely no excuse for Frances Tiafoe’s behaviour on court yesterday in Shanghai, and some of the players attitude towards umpires in recent months is quite concerning. Especially as throwing the ball up should not be a viable solution to buying additional time to the 25 seconds allowed, so it is hard to see that the American even had a case. At least Tiafoe has owned up and apologised, but it may just be damage limitation with it seeming likely that a heavy fine will be coming his way.
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