ITALIAN STALLION Lorenzo Musetti risked a possible default from the French Open after he kicked a ball into a line judge’s chest.
The Wimbledon semi-finalist, 23, beat American Frances Tiafoe 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-2 in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
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Yet he was fortunate not to be disqualified from the competition for his actions after losing game eight of the second set when he kicked a stray ball in frustration right at a female official.
Tiafoe, 27, highlighted the situation to the umpire as he went to change racquets.
In the end, the No.8 seed received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct but it could have been much worse.
There have been precedents for this – Novak Djokovic was eliminated from the 2020 US Open for the same thing and Tim Henman was famously KO-ed from Wimbledon for injuring a poor ball girl in 1995.
Henman, working as an analyst on TNT Sports, said: “By the letter of the law, if you hit or kick a ball away in frustration, and it hits a ballboy, line-judge or umpire that can be a disqualification.
“When you look at that, the umpire could have interpreted that as a disqualification.
“If Musetti was disqualified for that, he’d feel very unlucky and aggrieved.
“But when you’re kicking a ball away, you’ve either got to be a better footballer and kick it in the right direction. Or you are risking something like that.”
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Musetti – who showed off his muscles to the crowd when he won – is the third Italian, after Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner, to reach semi-finals on multiple surfaces at Grand Slams.
Boris Becker, the three-time Wimbledon champion, said: “The German umpire Timo Janzen did an excellent job.
“You can’t disqualify Musetti over something like that. The warning was justified, but you can’t compare it to Djokovic.
“The internet needs to calm down. Everyone’s trying to be holier than the Pope. But let’s keep things in perspective. It was a warning, not a disqualification.”
Fans online were less forgiving than the two retired pros, making their feelings clear on social media.
One asked: “How is this not a default??”
While another added: “Djokovic was banned for a whole tournament for a lot less!”
A third wrote: “Default. Rules are rules. Foe should be through. It’s a disgrace.”
And a fourth posted: “Default. The inconsistency and double standards in decision-making is making me grow cold toward tennis.”
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