Frances Tiafoe was left upset after a decision went against him at the Canadian Open that cost him dear.
After Tiafoe lost to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, he chose to skip the Olympic Games and began the North American hard court swing by playing in the Atlanta Open in July.
After reaching the semi-finals at the Citi Open in Washington, the 26-year-old made his way to Canada hoping for a strong run in Montreal.
But the World number 27 is already thinking about his next tournament as his stay in Canada proved to be a short one and it did not come without controversy.
What happened in Frances Tiafoe’s Canadian Open first round match?
Frances Tiafoe began his Canadian Open campaign against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, who is having a very strong season.
The controversy began with Tiafoe down 4-5 and serving to stay in the first set. With the score locked at 30-30, Tabilo returned his opponent’s second serve long, but it did not register on hawkeye.
The point continued before a belated radio message said the ball landed out and the point should be awarded to Tiafoe.
However, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani judged the point to have carried on too long, and therefore decided the point should be replayed.
This had a huge impact on Tiafoe, whose serve was subsequently broken and he lost the set. He could be heard saying: “are you serious man” to the official at the end of the set. Tiafoe went on to lose the match 4-6, 2-6 as Tabilo advanced to the next round.
What was the reaction to the controversial line call at the Canadian Open?
Taifoe was not the only one who disagreed with the call by umpire Lahyani as his girlfriend Ayan Broomfield voiced her frustration on special media platform X.
“Someone please explain to me how they didn’t give Frances this point when it was clearly stated that his opponent hit the ball out … genuinely confused,” Broomfield wrote.
“30-30, serving down 4-5. no player challenges, only electronic line calling. There was ELECTRONIC proof that he won the point.”
Fans also voiced their displeasure with the decision as X user @BlackSpinGlobal said: “Umpire Mohamed Lahyani definitely owes Frances Tiafoe an apology. Totally get the fact that tech glitches happen, but like the commentator said (and the replay clearly shows) Alejandro Tabilo’s ball was “comfortably” out.”
@StringTheoryUS added: “This could’ve easily changed the match that Tiafoe ended up losing. Shameful showing from the ATP & the tournament on this one,” and @HumpA_55 posted: “That umpire simply needs to be reprimanded. It is not too late, if the electronic system erred but you now know it’s out, then it’s out.”
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