Frances Tiafoe curses referee for infraction at Shanghai Masters

Frances Tiafoe directed an expletive-filled tirade at a referee after losing his third-round match at the ATP Shanghai Masters on Tuesday.

Tiafoe lost to unseeded Roman Safiullin 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5), just minutes after referee Jimmy Pinoargote called a timeout on the No. 13 seed American's serve.

After congratulating Safiullin at the net, Tiafoe pointed at Pinoargote and shouted, “F— you, man! —ing match!”

Tiafoe added that he fought for a living on the pitch for three hours, peppering his words with more expletives.

Tiafoe initially protested with the final set tied at 5-5 when Pinoargote called him for overtime, costing Tiafoe his serve. Tiafoe had thrown the ball into the air, although it was unclear whether it was an attempted serve.

“No, no, I threw the ball up. … I was ready to serve,” Tiafoe told Pinoargote. “Dude, that’s the rule.”

“I don’t buy it, it’s the second serve,” replied Pinoargote, who then ended the exchange by announcing “second serve” into the microphone.

Tiafoe lost the point and ultimately the match. Before leaving court, Tiafoe added: “Never again.”

Tiafoe posted an apology on Instagram later Tuesday.

“This is not who I am and this is not the way I would ever want to treat people,” he said. “I let my frustration out in the heat of the moment and am extremely disappointed with how I handled the situation. This is not acceptable behavior and I would like to apologize to the referee, the tournament and the fans.”

Tiafoe could face fines if she insults an officer and uses profanity. The tournament may take away some of his prize money, and the case could also be referred to the ATP Members' Fines Committee for further investigation.

The ATP rules stipulate fines of $60,000 for Masters 1000 tournaments. A tour spokesman said no decision had been made on the matter.

Safiullin next faces world No. 4 Novak Djokovic, who beat Flavio Cobolli in straight sets and moved closer to his 100th career ATP title.

The 26-year-old Tiafoe has been in outstanding form over the summer. He reached the final of the Cincinnati Open, where he lost to Jannik Sinner, and then the semifinals of the US Open, where he lost in five sets to fellow American Taylor Fritz.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.