Controversy erupted in Frances Tiafoe's Toronto battle against Alejandro Tabilo in Montreal after a decision from the umpire Mohamed Lahyani that left fans in the stadium and watching at home scratching their heads.
Tiafoe was playing in his second tournament of the North American hardcourt swing after also appearing in Washington last week. He competed in Washington instead of going to the Paris Olympics.
Both Tiafoe and Ben Shelton decided not to compete at Roland-Garros last week. However, US Olympic team captain Bob Bryan was not surprised the pair withdrew, acknowledging that players do what is in their best interest.
Tiafoe made a solid start to the North American swing by making the semifinal at his home tournament in Washington. He fell in the semifinal to Sebastian Korda, who went on to defeat Flavio Cobolli in the final.
The 2022 US Open semifinalist was hoping to build on his run in Washington at the ATP-1000 event in Toronto, where he faced Alejandro Tabilo in the opening round on Centre Court.
After a high-quality opening set, Tiafoe was 4-5 down, but he was on his serve, with the score locked at 30-30. During the rallyTabilo hit a shot that looked to be a long way out. However, the electronic line-calling system did not call it.
Lahyani then stopped the rally a few shots later and confirmed the electronic system had not called out when it should have. The Swede said he had got confirmation that Tabilo's shot had landed out.
It seemed obvious that Tiafoe would be awarded the point since that would have happened if the line-calling system had called out when it should have. What happened next left the American understandably furious.
Layhani said the point had to be replayed since the rally continued for a few shots after the ball. That was a strange decision because Tiafoe was not at fault for the rally continuing and would have won it if the technology had not malfunctioned.
Tablo went on to win the following point, take the set, and win the match 6-4, 6-2. The American was clearly impacted by the umpiring decision, and his level declined sharply in the second set.
Ayan Broomfield, Tiafoe's girlfriend, posted about the situation on X. She could not understand why her partner was not awarded the point since there was electronic proof that Tabilo's ball was out.
"Someone please explain to me how they didn’t give Frances this point when it was clearly stated that his opponent hit the ball out … genuinely confused. 30-30, serving down 4-5. no player challenges, only electronic line calling. There was ELECTRONIC proof that he won the point."
Some felt Tabilo should have shown sportsmanship by conceding the point to Tiafoe. However, it was a difficult situation for the Chilean, with Layhani at fault for making a decision that left fans scratching their heads.
It is yet another officiating controversy on the ATP Tour after Denis Shalovalov was defaulted from his quarterfinal in Washington last week. Hopefully, there will be no more incidents throughout the rest of the men's event in Montreal.
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