Tiafoe Furious After Heavy Loss to Safiullin
Posted by Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday October 8, 2024
Frances Tiafoe he lost to his first team 5-5 in the last match of the league Roman Safiullin.
Then he lost the game.
In the end, he lost his cool, as Safiullin secured a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory.
Tiafoe was frustrated with the decision made by referee Jimmy Pinoargote, but it appears that Pinoargote had the power to arrest Tiafoe for the time violation.
The replay shows Tiafoe late on the service line as he prepares to go 5-all in the tiebreak, when he throws the ball high in the air. But it was clear that Tiafoe was not going to hit the target, which is why he was arrested for breaking the law.
“I threw the ball and I was ready to serve,” Tiafoe argued. “That’s the law.”
Tiafoe threw the ball, but he clearly wasn’t ready to serve. We can’t see the clock in the video below, so we’ll have to assume the 25-second clock ticked down to zero (Tiafoe didn’t dispute that there was time on the clock).
The moment that leads to Tiafoe punching the referee.
The umpire gave him a warning for a time violation and he took his first meal.
He said ‘I don’t buy it, now it’s a second service’
Tiafoe said ‘Throw me the ball, this is the law’
– edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) October 8, 2024
After losing the next two points Tiafoe shook Safiullin’s hand and threw a bunch of obscenities at Pinoargote. He will certainly be fined for his actions.
Warning: the video below contains bad language:
ATP social media ignored Safiullin’s win over Tiafoe and… here’s why.
Bad behavior from Frances, who should expect a big penalty. pic.twitter.com/LTy1ANI7Cw
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 8, 2024