"I just want to know why"- Frances Tiafoe furious as "insane" time violation haunts him yet again; American confronts umpire, supervisor in Vienna
Frances Tiafoe did not hold back after he received yet another time violation, this time in his first-round match at the 2024 Erste Bank Open in Vienna. He brought to light the penalties players receive for the violations.
Tiafoe edged out Cameron Norrie 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the opening round at the ATP 500 in Vienna on Tuesday, October 22. The American's win was marred by controversy, though. Thanks to the automatic shot clock that has been in effect since the Asian Swing, he received a time violation in the opening set. This resulted in him confronting the chair umpire, following which the supervisor was summoned.
After winning the first set, Frances Tiafoe celebrated by yelling “let’s go” in the chair umpire's direction, leading to a code violation. This isn’t the first time the 26-year-old has had an altercation with the umpire. Following his loss by narrow margins to Roman Safiullin at the Shanghai Masters, he repeatedly screamed “F**k you” to the chair umpire, having received a couple of time violations during crucial moments of the match.
After his win in Vienna, Tiafoe condemned the shot clock rule, noting that he’d received time violations in four consecutive matches—a first in his career. Besides Tiafoe, several other tennis players have protested the automatic shot clock rule.
"We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears out here. And for me to play four consecutive matches and get four consecutive time violations is insane," he said in his on-court interview.
"It needs to be spoken about. Because then I also lost points; lost money; lost opportunities; fines that come with that – because of reaction," Tiafoe continued.
When asked if he’ll deal with the situation better in the future, Frances Tiafoe said:
"I’ll deal with it better when they make a change, right? I think the more I kinda go on with it, I don’t think any change will happen. Me getting four time violations in four matches is pretty ridiculous to me. I’ve been on tour ten years and that’s never happened. So I just want to know why."
Frances Tiafoe to face Matteo Berrettini in Vienna
Frances Tiafoe would hope to put the controversy behind him as he gears up for his second-round match at the 2024 Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
He is chasing his fourth career title at the ATP 500 event and first of the season after his runner-up finishes in Houston and Cincinnati. The American was the finalist in Vienna in 2021 and would look to do better this time.
For a spot in the quarterfinals, Tiafoe faces Matteo Berrettini on Wednesday, October 23.