Frances Tiafoe swears and screams at umpire repeatedly in furious Shanghai Masters outburst

Frances Tiafoe let rip at the umpire as he was hit with a time violation en route to his loss in the Shanghai Masters, with the American using foul language in a shock outburst

Frances Tiafoe screamed "f*** you" several times at the umpire as he accused him of costing him his match at the Shanghai Masters.

The American was edged out in a third set tiebreak as Roman Safiullin emerged victorious following three hours on court. Tiafoe shook his opponent's hand at the net following his third round loss before letting loose at the umpire, refusing to shake his hand.

With the game in the balance at one set all and 5-5 in the third set tiebreak Tiafoe was hit with a time violation as he prepared to serve. It wasn't his first in the match, meaning it came with a loss of first serve at a crucial moment.

The American, who recently made the semi-finals of the US Open, protested his innocence to the umpire, claiming that as he tossed the ball he had begun his service action. The umpire responded "I’m not buying this. It’s a second serve now," he replied.

Tiafoe continued to protest his innocence: "I tossed the ball I was ready to serve. Dude that’s the rule. The ball goes up, how am I not ready to serve?" The umpire continued to tell the American that it was a "second serve" despite his continued anger.

Tiafoe would lose the point and shortly after fell to defeat. After shaking hands with the world No. 61, he turned his attention to the umpire and shouted: "F*** you man. F*** you. Seriously man. You f***ed me the f***ing match." He continued: "Three f***ing hours and you’re going to do that. Why? You f***ed the match up. Great f***ing job. F***."

The American hasn't claimed an ATP Tour title since he was victorious on the grass in Stuttgart back in June 2023. He's lost in two finals this year, including in the Cincinnati Open, where he was beaten by Jannik Sinner.

Safiullin will now take on Novak Djokovic for a place in the quarter-finals with the Serbian winning their two previous encounters. Djokovic is still aiming to qualify for this year's ATP Finals and a run into the latter stages in Shanghai will help his chances.

“From the beginning I had a clear game plan of what I needed to do, staying aggressive and trying to use every short ball to take the initiative in the point,” Djokovic said after his win over Flavio Cobolli.

The top five seeds are all still in the mix in China with Sinner, Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev all in the hunt.