Frances Tiafoe Blasts ‘Comical’ Decision not to Penalize Lorenzo Musetti During Their Roland Garros Quarterfinal

Frances Tiafoe was bidding to reach his second Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros.

Frances Tiafoe Blasts ‘Comical’ Decision not to Penalize Lorenzo Musetti During Their Roland Garros Quarterfinal

Lorenzo Musetti and Frances Tiafoe (via Tennis.com)

Frances Tiafoe has voiced his frustration over officials not defaulting Lorenzo Musetti during their French Open quarterfinal. The incident occurred when Musetti accidentally kicked a ball that hit a line judge. Despite the contact, the Italian was allowed to continue and eventually won the match.

Musetti advanced to his first Roland Garros semifinal after a four-set victory over Tiafoe. He is now set to face either Carlos Alcaraz or Tommy Paul for a spot in the final. However, his win came under controversy due to the incident with the line judge. Tiafoe said in his Roland Garros press conference:

He did that & nothing happened. I think that’s comical. It is what it is. Nothing happened. So there’s nothing to talk about. Obviously it’s not consistent. It is what it is.

The moment happened when Musetti was trailing 3-5 in the second set. After losing a point, he received balls from a ball boy. One of them fell behind him, and instead of picking it up, he kicked it with his left foot. The ball struck a female line judge in the chest.

Realizing what happened, Musetti immediately walked toward her and raised his racket in apology. The chair umpire issued him a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct, but no further penalties were given. Musetti went on to close the match 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 and book his place in the semifinals.

Lorenzo Musetti makes history at Roland Garros

Italian tennis star Lorenzo Musetti has continued his impressive 2025 clay season by reaching his first semifinal at the French Open. The eighth seed overcame 15th seed Frances Tiafoe and difficult weather conditions to win 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier. A key break at the end of the third set helped Musetti take control before closing out the match in the fourth.

Ranked No. 7 in the world, Musetti has now made it to his second Grand Slam semifinal. His first came on grass at Wimbledon in 2024. With this latest result, he joins fellow Italians Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini as the only men from Italy in the Open Era to reach major semifinals on multiple surfaces.

Sinner has made it to Grand Slam semifinals on all three surfaces and at each of the four majors. Berrettini has done so on both grass and hard courts. Musetti, with strong showings across different conditions, is quickly building a similarly versatile profile.

His 2025 clay season has been one of the best on tour. He reached the Monte Carlo final in April, followed by semifinal runs in both Madrid and Rome. At 23 years and 83 days, Musetti is the third youngest man since 1990 to reach the semifinals of all three clay Masters and Roland Garros in the same year—behind only Rafael Nadal in 2007 and Novak Djokovic in 2008.

Frances Tiafoe falls at Roland Garros

American star Frances Tiafoe’s bid to reach his first French Open semifinal ended on Tuesday with a defeat to Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian secured a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win on Court Philippe-Chatrier, advancing to the final four of a Grand Slam for the second time in his career. His previous semifinal appearance came at Wimbledon in 2024.

Frances Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe (Image via X)

The 23-year-old Musetti will now meet defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s semifinal. Both Tiafoe and Musetti were enjoying their best runs at Roland Garros, but it was the Italian who struck first. He broke Tiafoe twice and claimed the opening set in just 37 minutes.

Tiafoe, ranked No. 16, answered with a break early in the second set and managed to level the match. However, that would be his only break of serve throughout the contest. Musetti held firm in the crucial third set and grabbed an early break in the fourth, which gave him full control.

From there, Musetti raced toward the finish line, converting his third match point when Tiafoe netted a forehand. The match lasted two hours and 47 minutes and marked another highlight in Musetti’s outstanding clay season. He had already reached the final in Monte Carlo and the semifinals in both Madrid and Rome.

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