Asked his view of the controversy afterward, Tiafoe said there’s a double standard at play that he called “comical.”
“I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened,” Tiafoe told the media in Paris. “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.”
Former US Open semifinalist Tiafoe is well aware of Novak Djokovic being defaulted from the US Open after accidentally striking a lineswoman in the throat with a ball.
At the 2020 US Open, Djokovic hit a ball in frustration at the back wall after dropping serve. The shot inadvertently struck a lineswoman in the throat immediately knocking her to the Arthur Ashe Stadium court. Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open and forfeited ranking points and the $250,000 prize money he earned reaching the US Open fourth round and incurred a $10,000 fine as well.
Tiafoe’s point is simple: Why did Djokovic’s strike warrant a disqualification but Musetti’s did not?
Presumably, the chair umpire considered the softness of the shot and lack of malice in Musetti’s case.
The Grand Slam rule states that disqualification can be ruled if “intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences.”
In this case, Musetti immediately apologized for the kicked ball and was hit with a code violation. The Monte-Carlo finalist said he believes the chair umpire made the right call as he did not intend to harm anyone.
“Honestly it was really unlucky coincidence,” Musetti told the media in Paris. “Yeah, I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn’t want to harm nobody, of course. So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, Sorry, I apologize to everyone.
“It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that’s why probably just, you know, let me continue my game.”
TNT analyst and former Grand Slam semifinalist Coco Vandeweghe said Musetti should have been ejected.
“In other sports if you put hands on the ref or hit the ref with the ball, you’re ejected,” Vandeweghe said on TNT. “The accident is always going to be there until it happens on purpose. You are at risk of hitting a ball girl or ball boy or a fan in the stands.”
Interestingly, at Roland Garros we’ve seen similar incidents met with different decisions throughout the years.
The first disqualification of the 2023 Roland Garros generated tears and controversy.
Aldila Sutjiadi and Miyu Kato were disqualified from Roland Garros doubles two years ago after Kato hit a ball that struck a ball girl.
