The umpire had to intervene in a late-night row between Frances Tiafoe and Jaime Faria as tempers boiled over at the French Open on Saturday.
Tiafoe had fought back from two sets down to force a decider against his Portuguese opponent when things became heated during a dispute over a line call.
Faria was annoyed that 19th seed Tiafoe had circled a ball mark to show a serve was out when it was deemed to have just caught the line.
He approached the net to argue with the American, prompting umpire Marijana Veljovic to come down from her chair and call the pair together.
The incident did not impress Tiafoe, who was picked up by microphones saying: “Why don’t you quit trying to act like you’re tough? You’re not hard bro, just play.”
The contest then resumed, with Tiafoe completing the comeback to win 4-6 6-7 (2) 7-6 (4) 6-1 6-2.
It was one of a record nine men’s singles matches in the third round to go the distance, with three decided by final-set tie-breaks.
Jannik Sinner’s defeat has left the top half of the draw wide open, with only three seeds remaining and one player – Matteo Berrettini – who has previously made a grand slam final.
Speaking to Bounces, Tiafoe admitted the occasion had got to him, saying: “I came out tight as hell today. I was telling some of my homies, it’s fun to be part of, man. You’re part of history, however you want to look at it. It’s pretty cool to see guys really put it on the line.”
Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is the highest-ranked player left in the top half and he survived another tough battle, coming from a set down to beat American Brandon Nakashima 5-7 6-1 7-6 (4) 7-6 (1).
The match was punctuated by the sound of fireworks from celebrating Paris Saint Germain fans outside the grounds following the Champions League final.
“It’s a wonderful evening for me and for all the Parisians, too,” said the Canadian. “Congratulations to the team and to (PSG manager) Luis Enrique. In terms of my tennis, I’m very pleasing to be moving on to the next round.”
PA
