Lorenzo Musetti hits lineswoman but escapes Novak Djokovic-like disqualification after angry act at French Open

In a controversial moment at the 2025 French Open, Lorenzo Musetti hit the ball straight at a lineswoman during his quarterfinal clash against Frances Tiafoe. But unlike the incident with Novak Djokovic at the US Open several years earlier, the Italian was not handed an immediate disqualification from the tournament.

Taking on Tiafoe on Tuesday, Musetti took the opening set 6-2. However, he went down a break early in the second set and Tiafoe held his nerves well to avoid getting broken back. The situation appeared to have gotten to the 23-year-old eyeing a first semifinal run at Roland Garros, who kicked a ball at the sideboards in a rare fit of emotion during the set.

While not very powerful, the ball did hit a lineswoman standing on the side of the court.

This was very similar to when Djokovic launched a ball in frustration during the 2020 US Open, which resulted in a disqualification from Flushing Meadows in the fourth round. The Serb was docked all ranking points he received from the event, and had to give up his prize money from New York as well.

The tennis world was quick to draw comparison between the two incidents, with fans wondering why Musetti was not given the same treatment as Djokovic and dumped out of the tournament.

Regardless, Tiafoe went on to take the second set 6-4, making things level at one set apiece.

Lorenzo Musetti went on to reach French Open SF with win over Frances Tiafoe

French Open Tennis Tournament. Roland-Garros 2025. - Source: Getty

Hours after the controversial moment, Lorenzo Musetti completed the win over Frances Tiafoe to reach the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in his career. He locked up the third set 7-5 with a late break of serve, and then took the fourth 6-2 for a career-first.

In the semifinal, Musetti will take on either defending champ Carlos Alcaraz or America's Tommy Paul. Should he reach the final, the Italian will face off against either No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner, World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic or Alexander Bublik, all of whom will play their quarterfinal clashes tomorrow.

Lorenzo Musetti's previous best result at a Grand Slam was reaching the semifinals, which happened at Wimbledon in 2024. That time, he lost to Djokovic in straight sets, and the Serb went on to lose to Carlos Alcaraz in the summit clash.