World No. 12 Frances Tiafoe was among the highest ranked American men’s tennis players to appear at the 2023 French Open. Unfortunately, Tiafoe couldn’t get past a resurgent Alexander Zverev, who rediscovered his best form and produced glimpses of his best tennis in a long while. In his fourth-round clash, Tiafoe won the first set comprehensively, and it seemed like he would go on to cement his place in the quarterfinals. However, a moment of controversy towards the end of the second set turned the match on its head. Zverev capitalized on the shift in momentum and ultimately went on to win the second, third, and fourth sets.

For Tiafoe fans, the American’s unfortunate exit was heartbreaking. Many of them also took to Twitter to lash out at the chair umpire, who played an active role in the controversial moment that gave Zverev the advantage going into the third set.

Frances Tiafoe fans weren’t happy at all with the chair umpire

After losing the first set, Zverev brought his A game in the second set. However, Tiafoe still continued to match Zverev, which took the second set to a tiebreaker. During the tiebreaker, Zverev won a contentious point after the ball appeared to be out. It completely transformed the tiebreaker, as Zverev roared back into contention and eventually won not just the second set, but the match as well. The controversial decision from the chair umpire didn’t go down well with Tiafoe fans.

One fan remarked that the chair umpire blatantly “robbed” Tiafoe.

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Another fan ridiculed the chair umpire for his decision to award Zverev the point.

Yet another fan criticized the line umpire more than the chair umpire for the controversial decision.

Another fan opined that the umpire should get the sack.

One fan was of the opinion that the chair umpire should have got down from his chair and reviewed the mark before awarding the point to Zverev.

Another fan termed the call “awful” and “egregious”.

Another user stated blatantly that the umpire “shirked responsibility”.

One fan, who was in the crowd, claimed that the incident was “easy to see from 150 meters away”.

Another fan who watched the match on TV claimed that the mark was clearly visible on the television screen.

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Tiafoe’s despair proved to be Zverev’s delight

Despite Tiafoe’s heartbreak, Alexander Zverev had every reason to rejoice. After all, Zverev’s performance reflected that the highly rated German is finally back to his best. Zverev was one of the best players on the ATP Tour going into the 2022 French Open.

However, in his match against eventual 2022 French Open champion Rafael Nadal, Zverev sustained a nasty injury. The German twisted his ankle and was forced to retire. The injury also forced Zverev to sit out the remainder of the 2022 season. His spell on the sidelines also led to him slipping down the ATP tour rankings. However, now that Zverev is rediscovering his best form, there are high hopes for the German to go on and achieve great things.

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