Frances Tiafoe Blasts ‘Comical’ Decision not to Penalize Lorenzo Musetti During Their Roland Garros Quarterfinal
The moment happened when Musetti was trailing 3-5 in the second set. After losing a point, he received balls from a ball boy. One of them fell behind him, and instead of picking it up, he kicked it with his left foot. The ball struck a female line judge in the chest.
Realizing what happened, Musetti immediately walked toward her and raised his racket in apology. The chair umpire issued him a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct, but no further penalties were given. Musetti went on to close the match 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 and book his place in the semifinals.
Lorenzo Musetti makes history at Roland Garros
Italian tennis star Lorenzo Musetti has continued his impressive 2025 clay season by reaching his first semifinal at the French Open. The eighth seed overcame 15th seed Frances Tiafoe and difficult weather conditions to win 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier. A key break at the end of the third set helped Musetti take control before closing out the match in the fourth.
Ranked No. 7 in the world, Musetti has now made it to his second Grand Slam semifinal. His first came on grass at Wimbledon in 2024. With this latest result, he joins fellow Italians Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini as the only men from Italy in the Open Era to reach major semifinals on multiple surfaces.
Sinner has made it to Grand Slam semifinals on all three surfaces and at each of the four majors. Berrettini has done so on both grass and hard courts. Musetti, with strong showings across different conditions, is quickly building a similarly versatile profile.
His 2025 clay season has been one of the best on tour. He reached the Monte Carlo final in April, followed by semifinal runs in both Madrid and Rome. At 23 years and 83 days, Musetti is the third youngest man since 1990 to reach the semifinals of all three clay Masters and Roland Garros in the same year—behind only Rafael Nadal in 2007 and Novak Djokovic in 2008.
Frances Tiafoe falls at Roland Garros
American star Frances Tiafoe’s bid to reach his first French Open semifinal ended on Tuesday with a defeat to Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian secured a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win on Court Philippe-Chatrier, advancing to the final four of a Grand Slam for the second time in his career. His previous semifinal appearance came at Wimbledon in 2024.