'Comical': Rival dumbfounded as star escapes disqualification for kicking ball at line judge
Updated . First published
Frances Tiafoe rolled his eyes as soon as the question arrived from a reporter, then called it "comical" that the player who beat him in the quarter-finals, Lorenzo Musetti, received only a warning for kicking a tennis ball that inadvertently hit a linesperson.
"I mean, obviously, he did that, and nothing happened. I think that's comical," No.15 seed Tiafoe said after his 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss to No.8 Musetti.
"Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously, it's not consistent, so it is what it is."
Watch all the action from Roland Garros 2025 live & on-demand on Stan Sport, with two courts in 4K UHD. Coverage of select matches free-to-air on 9GemHD and streaming on 9Now
Unlike at most top-level tennis tournaments, which rely on electronic line-calling, there are still humans on court at Roland-Garros to make rulings on whether shots land in or out.
That was a separate gripe Tiafoe had, because there were some calls he argued, including one that TV showed he was right about.
It's happened in the past that players have forfeited matches for striking a chair umpire or a line judge with a ball and hurting them - whether on purpose or not.
READ MORE: Lockyer's telling reply when asked if Madge faces axe
READ MORE: Bears icon details 'imperative' next step after Meninga signing
READ MORE: 'New drama' for Tigers after 'chilling' Instagram post
Lorenzo Musetti accidentally kicks a ball at a line judge. Stan
However on this occasion, the woman who was hit continued to officiate.
One of the most well-known examples of a player being disqualified came at the 2020 US Open, where 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic angrily swung his racket at a ball between games and accidentally hit a female line judge in the throat.
Musetti - who won a bronze medal for Italy at the Paris Olympics and was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year - had just dropped a game to trail Tiafoe 5-3 in the second set of their match at Court Philippe-Chatrier.
As Musetti was given balls so he could serve in the next game, he took a left-footed swipe at one and it sailed into a female line judge making calls behind a baseline.
Musetti apologised, and the chair umpire announced that he was being given a warning for a code violation.
There is no penalty for an initial warning of that sort.
"Honestly, it was a really unlucky coincidence. I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn't want to harm (anybody), of course," Musetti said later.
"So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, 'Sorry, I apologise to everyone'.
"It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that's why probably (he) let me continue."
Frances Tiafoe protested to the umpire but no further action was taken. Stan
Musetti edged a narrow third set and claimed an early break in the fourth.
He raced to victory from there, winning the third of three match points when Tiafoe put a simple forehand into the net.
The 2h 47m victory is the latest milestone in a superb clay-court season for Musetti, having recently reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters and the semi-finals of the Madrid Open and Italian Open.
That run has seen him rise from 16th up to seventh in the world rankings, and a fourth consecutive semi-final appearance now awaits.
"At the beginning of the year I wasn't that confident. I wasn't trusting myself much, so this is a big step forward for me," Musetti told Duncan McKenzie-McHarg for Stan Sport's Grand Slam Daily after the match.
"There's still room for improvement and I'm happy to work for it."
Despite the loss, Tiafoe will take confidence from his performances at this year's run at Roland-Garros.
Having never previously reached beyond the second round, he breezed through his first four matches without dropping a set.
Alongside Tommy Paul, the 27-year-old was the first American man to reach the final eight at Roland-Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003.
But Tiafoe was below his best in the quarter-finals, ending the match on 51 unforced errors.
By contrast, Musetti hit 45 winners to Tiafoe's 33 and won an impressive 81 percent of his points on first serve.
Should he reach a first grand slam final at Roland-Garros, then Musetti will have to get past a dominant Carlos Alcaraz in the next round – a player who has already beaten him twice on clay this season. - with Wide World of Sports and CNN
