FRANCES TIAFOE repeatedly swore at the umpire after a controversial call led to him losing a decisive tiebreak.
The American was defeated by Roman Safiullin 5-7 7-5 7-6 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters today.
With the score 5-5 in the final set breaker, Tiafoe was hit with a time violation for taking too long before serving.
Umpire Jimmy Pinoargote slapped him with a “loss of serve”, meaning he had to play the crucial point on second serve.
Tiafoe raged when the decision was announced, confronting the official to protest his innocence thanks to a little-known rule.
The world No17 claimed because he had thrown the ball up to serve but decided not to hit it, the shot clock should have been stopped.
He fumed: “I tossed the ball. Dude, that is the rule. If the ball goes up how am I not ready to serve?”
Yet Pinoargote appeared to suggest Tiafoe’s throw was not genuine and was to exploit a loophole in the rules, arguing back: “I’m not buying it, it is a second serve now.”
The US Open semi-finalist went on to lose the next two points and therefore the match.
At the end of the game, Tiafoe swore eight times at the umpire.
He shouted: “”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***.”
Sky Sports commentator Jonathan Overend apologised for the bad language as his colleague Colin Fleming added: “My goodness. He’s completely lost the plot there, that is going to be a sizeable fine coming his way.
“You might feel aggrieved with something that’s happened but you can’t speak to anyone like that.
“It wasn’t a legitimate throw-up though, was it? He tried to buy himself some time. He has enforced the rules.”
Tiafoe later posted an apology of his own to his Instagram Story.
It read: “I really apologize for the way I acted tonight. That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people.
“I let my 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 behavior and I want to apologize to the umpire, the tournament, and the fans.
“I’ll be better for yall.”
Safiullin will face legend Novak Djokovic in the next round.
It is the second controversial incident involving an umpire in Shanghai after Carlos Bernardes miscounted the score in a different match with the players not realising.
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