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In the first mens' quarterfinal at this year's French Open, No. 8 seed Lorenzo Musetti dispatched No. 15 seed Frances Tiafoe in four competitive sets, 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-2. With the victory, Musetti reached his first career Roland Garros semifinal and his second Grand Slam semifinal after reaching the same stage at Wimbledon last summer.
Musetti came into this one as the clear favorite, and he showed why he is one of the contenders to lift the trophy on Sunday. His defensive skills, court craft and natural clay-court movement were too much for the American, who is more suited to faster surfaces but still reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set.
Despite the victory, there was some controversy involved with the Italian. After cruising through the first set, Tiafoe took control of the second frame with an early break and continued hanging onto his serve throughout the set. Late in the set, Musetti kicked a tennis ball in frustration that hit a line umpire.
Lorenzo Musetti received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct after this incident 😳 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ted26XaBUv
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) June 3, 2025
Despite there being precedent for a default for this kind of situation in the past, Musetti was given a warning and the match continued.
After the contest finished up, Tiafoe was not pleased that Musetti was allowed to continue playing.
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"He did that and nothing happened. I think that's comical." 🗣️
Frances Tiafoe reacts to the controversial moment when his opponent Lorenzo Musetti kicked a ball at a line judge.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/v8YLHFI81p
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) June 3, 2025
“He did that and nothing happened. I think that's comical,” Tiafoe said. “It is what it is. Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously, it's not consistent, so it is what it is.”
A default would have sent Tiafoe into the semifinals, which would have been his third Grand Slam final four appearance and his first outside of the U.S. Open.
When the incident occurred, many tennis fans had a flashback to the 2020 U.S. Open, when top seed Novak Djokovic was defaulted from his fourth round match against Pablo Carreno Busta for a similar incident. Djokovic hit a ball fairly softly back towards the fence, hitting a line judge and earning him a one-way ticket out of the tournament.
Regardless, Tiafoe is now headed to the grass season with a focus on the upcoming Wimbledon Championships. Musetti will have two days off before he takes on No. 2 seed and defending French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals as he seeks a first appearance in a Grand Slam final.
