"This is what Coco Gauff was talking about at Olympics" - Fans appalled after Frances Tiafoe's Canadian Open 1R loss marred by umpire controversy

Frances Tiafoe was at the receiving end of an inexplicable decision made by chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani in the American's first-round loss at the ongoing 2024 National Bank Open in Montreal. The decision came at a crucial juncture of the match and proved to eventually benefit the winner of the contest, Chile's Alejandro Tabilo. Later, fans blatantly criticized Lahyani for the incorrect call.

The contentious moment came when Tiafoe was serving to stay in the first set, with the score tied at 30-30 in the set's tenth game. A wayward shot hit by Tabilo landed well beyond the baseline, but chair umpire Lahyani surprisingly failed to spot it and asked the players to replay the point, that too after bizarrely allowing the rally to continue. Tabilo went on to win the replayed point.

Strangely, Tiafoe did not raise any objections, suggesting that he did not see where Tabilo's shot had landed. Tabilo would go on to win the next point and seal the set 6-4 before eventually clinching the second set 6-2 and dashing Tiafoe's hopes at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

The majority of tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter) questioned Lahyani's decision-making. One set of them opined that it was a straightforward decision to make for the experienced chair umpire and nothing that should have warranted any sort of controversy.

"Not sure how there could be any controversy. The ball was out. It’s Tiafoe’s point. If you hit the ball behind the base line, then your opponent wins the point," wrote a fan.

"Out! Out is out. Replay absolutely nothing. Not sure how Frances missed that though, as far out as it was. If he’d seen it, I imagine he would have argued his point?" another fan asked.

"And this is what Coco (Gauff) was talking about at the (2024 Paris) Olympics. These umpires are making “mistakes” and it’s costing players points/games/sets. It’s unacceptable but will anything be done? Let’s see," another fan chimed in, referring to Coco Gauff's emotional exchange with the chair umpire during her loss to Donna Vekic at the recently-concluded Paris Games.

Another set of fans lambasted Lahyani, suggesting that the chair umpire should face punishment for his error as it played a significant part in swinging the contest in Tabilo's favor.

"Layani lied badly, didn't even mention the ball was out. Thanks to the tv guys we were able to see that," a fan wrote.

"Not controversial. Layani just lied and screwed Tiafoe. This was bad, very bad. He should be punished," commented another fan.

"Layani lied because why? A ball that was out wasn't identified as out until 4-5 strikes later? Out is out, especially for automated line calling. Why would a player stop the point to correct a "never wrong" system? Layani messed up bigly here. No replay. Point to Tiafoe," another fan weighed in.

Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend Ayan Broomfield also questioned Lahyani's decision-making

Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend Ayan Broomfield (Source: Getty)

Ayan Broomfield, Tiafoe's girlfriend and Canadian tennis player, reacted to Tiafoe being unfairly robbed of the point as well.

Broomfield expressed her confusion over the controversy on X (formerly Twitter), especially as there was "electronic proof" of Tabilo's ball landing out.

"Someone please explain to me how they didn’t give Frances this point when it was clearly stated that his opponent hit the ball out … genuinely confused. 30-30, serving down 4-5. no player challenges, only electronic line calling. There was ELECTRONIC proof that he won the point," Broomfield wrote.

Tiafoe would be hoping to quickly bounce back from his poor display against Tabilo in Montreal. The 2022 US Open semifinalist has, for the most part, been a mere shadow of the player who reached a career-high ranking of World No. 10 last year. Right now, Tiafoe is ranked World No. 27.