The stakes were sky-high as 15th seed Frances Tiafoe locked horns with Lorenzo Musetti in a gripping French Open quarterfinal. With neither player having ever reached the final four at Roland-Garros, the pressure was palpable, and the tension spilled onto the court. Musetti came out swinging on Tuesday, dominating the opening set 6-2. But the momentum shifted early in the second, with Tiafoe breaking serve and holding firm to level the match. Frustration began creeping in for the 23-year-old Italian, who let his emotions show in an uncharacteristic outburst. One that had fans recalling Novak Djokovic’s US Open punishment.

In a moment that stunned the crowd, Musetti kicked a ball in frustration, only for it to strike a lineswoman stationed courtside. The Italian only received a warning for a code violation from the chair umpire. He ended up losing the set to his American opponent later.

The incident immediately drew comparisons to the infamous Novak Djokovic episode from the 2020 US Open, where the Serb was disqualified after hitting a line judge with a ball during a fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta. Djokovic had his serve broken at 6-5 when the 24-time Grand Slam champion angrily threw a ball that inadvertently hit a lineswoman in the throat.

Ranked World No.1 at the time, he was the favorite to win his 18th Grand Slam title at that US Open. Not only was he fined for the incident, but he also had to forfeit his ranking points and the prize money he earned at the tournament as well.

Despite the striking similarities, Musetti escaped punishment with only a warning, a decision that didn’t sit well with many tennis fans and analysts.

Fans react after Lorenzo Musetti escapes disqualification after Novak Djokovic-like behavior

Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs reacted to his unsportsmanlike behaviour and took to X to write, “Wow Musetti is VERY LUCKY to be still on court right now. You cannot kick a ball and it hit the linesperson and not be defaulted.”

She further wrote in another post, “I know he didn’t mean it but no one does, man, this is BAD! And he’s out there playing right, knowing he could easily have been in the locker room!“

One fan recalled Novak Djokovic’s US Open punishment and wrote,” Musetti kicked the ball and hit a line judge in the chest with it. That should have been a default. It was for Djokovic.”

The Serbian star’s infamous exit from the 2020 US Open wasn’t without precedent in the rulebook. He was found in violation of Article III: Player On-Site Offenses, Section N of the Official Grand Slam Rule Book — the section specifically addressing “ball abuse.” It was Novak Djokovic’s best chance other than win the US Open as his two main opponents were out of contention. Roger Federer was out after having undergone two knee surgeries and reigning champion Rafael Nadal had skipped the tournament to focus on the rescheduled French Open.

Another fan wrote, “Where were the Roland Garros officials? There should be an official decision re Musetti – shouldn’t be only the umpire’s decision.”

It’s a fair point, considering in Djokovic’s case, he had to plead his case with tournament referee Soeren Friemel and Grand Slam supervisor Andreas Egli in a lengthy conversation at the net. However, later accepted his fate as he shook hands with his opponent, Carreno Busta. The Spaniard was also shocked by the decision.

The tournament referee had said, “He said ‘yes, I was angry, I hit the ball, I hit the line umpire, the facts are very clear, but it wasn’t my intent, I didn’t do it on purpose, so I shouldn’t be defaulted for that’. “We all agreed that he didn’t do it on purpose but the facts are still that he hit the line umpire and that the line umpire was clearly hurt.” 

Another fan wrote, “So Rublev gets defaulted for cussing at a line judge and Novak hit someone years ago and did too. Musetti straight kicks the ball at a line judge and gets away with it?!“

Disqualifications in tennis aren’t unheard of, often making headlines when they do happen. Back in 1990, John McEnroe was defaulted from his fourth-round clash at the Australian Open after racking up three code violations. In another instance, Serena Williams was defaulted on the final point of her semifinal match against Kim Clijsters following an argument with a line judge in the 2009 US Open semifinals. Recently, in 2024, Andrey Rublev was disqualified from the Dubai Open semifinal after he was trailing 6-5 in the final set. The Russian screamed in the face of a line judge over a disputed call. A Russian-speaking official informed the ATP survivor that Rublev had allegedly sworn in Russian at the line judge. Rublev denied the allegation but was still disqualified from the tournament.

Lorenzo Musetti, however, was lucky enough to receive a code violation. He later went on to win the match 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. He will contest his first French Open semifinal and will face the winner of Tommy Paul and Carlos Alcaraz. What do you think about Lorenzo Musetti’s angry outburst? Share your thoughts in the comments below!