French Open: Lorenzo Musetti beats Frances Tiafoe despite kicking ball at judge for unsportsmanlike warning

Lorenzo Musetti advanced to his first semifinals appearance at the French Open Tuesday with a four-set win over Frances Tiafoe. Musetti held off Tiafoe despite receiving an unsportsmanlike conduct warning in the second set after inadvertently hitting a line judge with a ball he kicked toward the back wall at Roland-Garros out of frustration.

The eighth-seeded Musetti drew an instant reaction from the chair umpire for a code violation, but was not penalized further. Musetti finished off Tiafoe in the fourth set after a series of close line calls went his way in the final games.

Many questioned after match if Musetti should’ve received a default and been ousted from the tournament after the play. Tiafoe looked at the chair umpire as if he was expecting a ruling, but only a warning was delivered.

“That’s the judgement of the chair umpire and eventually the tournament referee, and it quickly was wiped away,” tennis analyst Jim Courier said during live coverage of the event. “You could see (Musetti) was frustrated, but it wasn’t as if he took a full throttle kicking the ball.”

Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the 2020 U.S. Open following a similar incident, though a bit more violent in retrospect. Djokovic defaulted in the fourth round after hitting a lineswoman with a ball out of frustration, inadvertently placing a ball in the throat area.

The lineswoman received medical attention and was fine, but play had to be stopped and Djokovic’s hit out of frustration was reviewed.

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Musetti was victorious 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 over Tiafoe inside the same venue he won the bronze medal in the 2024 Olympics. He’ll play the winner of the last remaining American, Tommy Paul, and Carlos Alcaraz on Friday for a spot in the championship.

Tiafoe and Paul became the first American men to reach the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Tiafoe won Tuesday’s second set against Musetti with a blazing cross-court forehand on set point, but a loss in third-set tiebreak was when his opponent took the upper hand in the match.

Musetti coasted in the final set, overpowering Tiafoe with his serve while taking advantage of a few ill-timed unforced errors from his opponent.