American champion Frances Tiafoe lost his recent match against Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor in the Davis Cup. The US crashed out of the tournament because of the second consecutive loss of Tiafoe. America’s Davis Cup record in the Open Era is now at stake as ATP professionals continue to struggle in vital matches. But the match against Griekspoor ended in a dramatic way due to a wrong call by the chair umpire.

Big Foe followed the likes of Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, as emotions got the better of him. The champion famous for his humor, pranks, and fun was now in the limelight for the exact opposite reasons.

Frances Tiafoe acts on an impulse as controversy takes center stage

The World No. 24, Griekspoor served the tie-break of the third set as he led the match. Tiafoe returned the serve, and though the ball landed squarely, it was called out by the line umpire. Bigfoe challenged the call. The review declared that the serve was good, and a match point was awarded to Griekspoor. But the umpire had called out the serve before Tiafoe returned it. So the American felt that the point should be replayed and expressed the same to the umpire. The discussion became an argument, and even the tournament supervisor had to step in. But to no avail.

Both the chair and the supervisor turned down Big Foe’s demand, and Griekspoor held to the point. This resulted in Tiafoe joining the racket-smashing club of Serena and Djokovic. Tiafoe vented his frustration through his racket and hit the ground multiple times as he reached the middle of the court. The American was handed a penalty point, which resulted in the match’s loss altogether. The match ended dramatically, and the US was out of the final amidst the unfortunate scene.

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Netizens expressed that it was unfair for the American to lose the match over a point penalty. So, fans on ‘X’ backed the Stuttgart Open winner and slammed the chair umpire for his decision, as they felt Tiafoe was right in his argument.

The chair umpire receives backlash from fans for his decision

Though Tiafoe’s behavior for the decision that cost his country the match was inexcusable, users of ‘X’ agree that the American made a valid point. One user compared the manual decisions of the Davis Cup with the US Open and wrote, “Removes line judges asap, only making problems, US open automatic system worked flawlessly.”

Another user was appalled by the decision and supported Tiafoe as he posted, “100% replay point. Wtaf!?”

A tennis fan took a brutal dig at the umpire and wrote, ” ‘Bc the ump stuck to his decision’ he might be investigated next for match fixing. What a bad call.”

The former Top-10 player enjoys every match of his, irrespective of the results. But the previous tournaments that Frances Tiafoe played yielded a series of upsetting results. Fans hope for a better comeback from Big Foe, as America continues to hail him as one if its best players.

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