In Toronto, Tiafoe Stands Out with Another Outburst Against a Chair Umpire

Frances Tiafoe narrowly advanced to the second round in Toronto by defeating Yosuke Watanuki in three sets (6-1, 7-5, 7-6).

However, beyond this hard-fought victory, the world No. 12 had several tense exchanges with chair umpire Fergus Murphy.

It all started in the second set at 4-3, when Tiafoe repeatedly used the same expletive—supposedly to "pump himself up." This behavior didn’t sit well with the chair umpire, who issued him a warning for misconduct.

A few games later, at 5-5, Tiafoe sarcastically addressed Fergus Murphy directly: "You're doing an amazing job, man. Seriously. I love having you here. You're excellent, keep it up."

The tension didn’t ease in the decisive set, as Tiafoe refused to shake the chair umpire’s hand when it was offered. The two then had another exchange on the court, with Tiafoe thanking Murphy for not penalizing him with a game penalty for his behavior.

It’s worth noting that the US Open semifinalist had a particularly heated clash with the same chair umpire in Shanghai last year. He insulted Murphy during his loss to Roman Safiullin before being fined $60,000 twice by the ATP.