Frances Tiafoe has spoken out about the automatic shot clock after receiving his fourth time violation in four matches at the 2024 Vienna Open.
The automatic shot clock being used between points has caused controversy in recent weeks on the ATP Tour, with many players left frustrated by receiving time violations they felt were harsh.
At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic was unhappy with umpire Mohamed Lahyani after being given a time violation, while Stefanos Tsitsipas raged at Fergus Murphy when he got the same punishment against Daniil Medvedev in Shanghai.
Taylor Fritz is one player who is more supportive of the shot clock. He recalled having issues with Murphy, in particular, because the Irish umpire used to call the score quicker than other umpires and feels that having an automatic clock prevents those issues.
However, the most controversial and high-profile time violation given at the Shanghai Masters was during Tiafoe's match against Roman Safiullin. The American threw the ball in the air as the clock hit 0, thinking that would stop him from being penalized.
But the umpire could see it was not a genuine attempt to serve, and Tiafoe was given a time violation. This led to him losing a first-serve at 5-5 in the deciding set tiebreak after also receiving a violation earlier in the match.
Safiullin took the next two points to win the match 5-7, 7-5, 7-6. Tiafoe then had a furious meltdown, swearing at the umpire repeatedly, which he wisely apologized for afterward.
Tiafoe's issues with the shot clock returned in his opening-round victory at the Vienna Open against Cameron Norrie when the 26-year-old received a fourth time violation in his last four matches.
The two-time US Open semifinalist could not hide his emotions afterward. For example, he celebrated wildly in the direction of the umpire after winning a game, which is unusual and rarely seen.
In an interview after the match, Tiafoe felt the effort exerted by players during matches is not understood enough, and does not feel the four time violations in his last four contests were deserved.
"We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears out here. And for me to play four consecutive matches and get four consecutive time violations is insane. It needs to be spoken about. Because then I also lost points; lost money; lost opportunities; fines that come with that – because of reaction."
The ATP interviewer, who gave a surprisingly tough interview, bluntly suggested that the American should simply deal better with being given the time violations. Tiafoe responded that the ATP should do better and change how the automatic shot clock is applied.
"I’ll deal with it better when they make a change, right? I think the more I kinda go on with it, I don’t think any change will happen. Me getting four time violations in four matches is pretty ridiculous to me. I’ve been on tour ten years and that’s never happened. So I just want to know why."
Carlos Alcaraz is among the other players who do not like the automatic shot clock, and debates about it will undoubtedly continue.
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