Frances Tiafoe was not happy with chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote at the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday, and he made that very clear.
Following Tiafoe's close three-set loss to Roman Safiullin, the American tennis star was heated. After shaking hands with his opponent, Tiafoe began cursing Pinoargote out, and the microphones picked up all of his profanity.
"F--- you man! F--- you! Seriously, man. F--- you! You f---ed me out of the f---ing match!" Tiafoe shouted.
The tense environment really started in the final set when Tiafoe and Safiullin were tied 5–5. The umpire called Tiafoe for a time violation on a second serve attempt, but Tiafoe argued that he had thrown the ball up in the air in order to serve. Pinoargote didn't change his mind, and Tiafoe went on to lose the point, and eventually the match, 5–7, 7–5, 7–6.
Tiafoe later wrote an apology on his Instagram story.
"I really apologize for the way I acted tonight," he wrote. "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 my acceptable behavior and I want to apologize to the upmire, the tournament, and the fans. I'll be better for y'all."
Tiafoe is expected to be served a fine for the outburst, although the ATP Tour hasn't announced any details regarding one.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Frances Tiafoe Erupts at Umpire in Profane Tirade Following Shanghai Masters Loss.
