Frances Tiafoe thanked chair umpire Fergus Murphy for not “getting him out” of the Canadian Open after a fiery match on Wednesday night. The No. 7 seed survived a scare, beating Yosuke Watanuki 1-6 7-5 7-6(5). During the match, Tiafoe received a code violation for swearing but argued that it was “positive reinforcement” towards himself.
After getting a time violation, he sarcastically took digs at the umpire. Tiafoe later hit a ball out of the court, but he didn’t receive any further penalties. And the American knew he got lucky, telling Murphy he appreciated his decision-making at the end of the match.
The drama started when the official announced a code violation for audible obscenity when Tiafoe said “f***ing” while celebrating a big hold, coming back from 0-40 down to lead 4-3 in the second set.
The 27-year-old questioned why he got a warning and said he swore “in a positive way”. Murphy explained: “You swore out loud. There are microphones everywhere. It might be positive, but it’s still offensive.”
Tiafoe argued: “You can’t give me a code if I’m positively reinforcing myself, it doesn’t matter what I say. Offended by what? I wasn’t saying anything to anybody. You can’t give me a code for that.”
But Murphy wasn’t having it and replied: “Yes I can. Don’t say it again but it does matter what you say. It might be positive to you but other people might get offended with that word. Frances, that’s the rule. I’m explaining. You’ve already got a code for that, I just wanted to make sure you knew.”
Tiafoe continued playing and was in more trouble when he saved multiple break points at 5-5. He also received a time violation in the middle of the game but got out alive. At the 6-5 changeover, he started muttering to Murphy.
“Love you Ferg. I love you brother. You do a great job up there, man. You really do, honestly. I’m happy how long your tenure has been, it’s been great. I love having you up there. You do excellent. Incredible stuff, dude. Carry on,” the seventh seed said.
The umpire didn’t respond or give him a further warning for his sarcastic comments, and Tiafoe broke in the next game to force a decider. He eventually sealed the victory after two hours and 13 minutes, but not before sending a ball flying.
Both Tiafoe and Murphy extended their arms for a handshake at the conclusion of the match, but the American walked away before they could make contact. While the umpire was packing up to leave the court, Tiafoe called him over.
“Ferg, you could’ve really f***ed me, but you didn’t,” he said, before the umpire reminded him to watch his language again.
“No but I know, I’m not saying it in a bad way. I’m saying you could’ve got me up out of here, at least a game penalty, and you didn’t. You could’ve, you know that. I’m saying it in a good way,” Tiafoe continued.
“We have to get the balance right, Frances,” Murphy explained. But Tiafoe still thought the official could have given him a penalty that would have affected the outcome of the match and allowed Watanuki to win.
He added: “You could’ve easily got me out of here. Easily a game penalty, you could’ve. I’m saying I appreciate it. You understood the match and you understood the time. I could’ve easily got a game penalty.”
Commentator Nick Lester also knew that Tiafoe may have gotten off lightly. “I think he’s talking about the ball. He actually hit the ball out. He knows it as well, he got a little fortunate there. Fergus maybe taking a little pity on him, who knows?” he said as Tiafoe packed up.
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk