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Frances Tiafoe was involved in a bit of a controversy during the USA's Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands on Thursday, September 14.
Tiafoe was up against World No. 24 Tallon Griekspoor after the Dutch went 1-0 up due to Botic van de Zandschulp's 7-6(2), 6-2 win over Tommy Paul.
The 25-year-old American found himself a set down but bounced back to claim the second set via a tiebreak and force the match into a decider. The third set was tightly contested and also went to a tiebreak, with Griekspoor taking a 5-2 lead.
At this point, the Dutchman hit a first serve, which the chair umpire Richard Haigh initially called out. Griekspoor asked for a challenge and was awarded the point, thus bringing up four match points for himself.
Frances Tiafoe was not happy with the chair umpire's call and argued with him as well as the tournament referee, claiming that the point should be replayed, but to no avail. The World No. 11 then smashed his racket in frustration, which propelled Haigh to give him a point penalty for racket abuse, thus awarding Griekspoor a 6-3, 6-7(7), 7-6(2) win. The Netherlands thus won the tie by taking a 2-0 lead.
Team USA managed to reduce the deficit to 2-1 after Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek won the doubles fixture 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-3 against Matwe Middelkoop and Wesley Koolhof.
Frances Tiafoe has lost both of his matches so far in the Davis Cup Finals
Frances Tiafoe hasn't had the best of times so far in the Davis Cup Finals despite entering the tournament on the back of a quarterfinal run at the US Open. Before his defeat to Griekspoor, the American lost 6-4, 7-6(6) to Borna Gojo during his country's opening tie against Croatia.
The 25-year-old now has 37 wins out of 54 matches so far this season, with two titles to his name. He claimed the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston before triumphing at the BOSS Open in Stuttgart. These were his first titles on clay and grass respectively.
Tiafoe will be looking to be at his best in what will be a crucial tie for the United States against Finland. The Americans are still in the hunt for a place in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, courtesy of their 2-1 win over Croatia.
If the 32-time champions manage to defeat Finland, they will have a strong chance of reaching the last eight.
