Tennis star shouts 'f*** you' three times at umpire in epic meltdown after Shanghai Masters loss
Frances Tiafoe was furious with the umpire
TENNISTV
Frances Tiafoe exploded in a fit of rage at the umpire after losing to Roman Safiullin at the Shanghai Masters.
The duo were locked in a third-round match after Safiullin levelled things up in the second set.
There was nothing to separate them in the third with a tiebreak needed to determine a winner.
Safiullin eventually came through to beat the No 13 seed and progress to the fourth round.
Frances Tiafoe was furious with the umpire
TENNISTV
They both shared a warm embrace at the net, but Tiafoe's smile soon faded as he launched into a furious tirade at the umpire.
"F*** you, f*** you, man," he shouted.
"Seriously, f*** you, f***ing idiot.
"You screwed up the match, do your f***ing job.
"Three f***ing hours, I'm fighting and running for my life."
Tiafoe's frustrations appeared to stem from him receiving a second time violation in the match, the second of which resulted in a loss of first serve at a crucial point.
With the tiebreak level at 5-5, Tiafoe was on serve when the umpire slapped the American with the punishment.
Tiafoe argued his case but was unable to win over the umpire before storming back to the baseline.
The world No 17 eventually lost the point with Safiullin making no mistake of his match point opportunity, securing the win with an ace.
Frances Tiafoe refused to shake the umpire's hand
TENNISTV
Safiullin now faces Novak Djokovic for a place in the quarter-finals with the Serbian winning their two previous encounters.
Djokovic is still aiming to qualify for this year's ATP Finals and a deep run in Shanghai will help his chances.
“From the beginning I had a clear game plan of what I needed to do, staying aggressive and trying to use every short ball to take the initiative in the point,” Djokovic said after his win over Flavio Cobolli.
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The umpire gave Frances Tiafoe a time violation in the tiebreak
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“Cobolli was evidently exhausted after last night’s match [against Stan Wawrinka].
"I think that has taken a toll, physically, on him today.
"I haven’t played too many matches, I think the positive in that is that I’m fresh, so I am happy to play every day [or] as long as it takes.”
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