Frances Tiafoe Calls Out 'Comical' Lack of Penalty for Musetti Kicking Ball at Judge

Frances Tiafoe was not a fan of the lack of punishment against Lorenzo Musetti after he kicked a ball at a line judge during the French Open on Tuesday.

"Yeah, I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened," Tiafoe told reporters. "I think that's comical, but it is what it is. Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously, it's not consistent, so it is what it is."

After kicking the ball at the line judge, Musetti received an unsportsmanlike conduct warning but was not penalized.

The incident came after Musetti dropped a game to fall into a 5-3 deficit in the second set of the French Open quarterfinal. After he was given balls to serve in the following game, he kicked at the line judge on his baseline. Tiafoe won the second set.

Despite the outburst that landed him a warning, Musetti regained his composure and beat Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals at Roland-Garros.

In a similar situation in 2020, Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open after accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball in frustration. The line judge had to receive medical attention and was fine, but Djokovic defaulted in the fourth round.

Though Djokovic's hit was harder than Musetti's kick on Tuesday, it's a bit surprising that there were no repercussions beyond a warning. At least, Tiafoe felt there should have been a more severe punishment.

Regardless, Musetti will now play in his first French Open semifinal. The Italian, who won a bronze medal at last year's Olympics in men's singles, reached the semifinal at Wimbledon last year and the third round of the Australian Open earlier this year. He'll look to win his first major championship this year.

First, he'll have to get past either Tommy Paul or Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals on Friday.