Frances Tiafoe booed for underarm serve at Italian Open, invites crowd to boo harder

Frances Tiafoe's underarm serve in the Italian Open match against Lorenzo Musetti was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd. However, Tiafoe refused to be intimidated and instead, he boldly encouraged the Italian spectators to boo even louder.

Tiafoe's match against Musetti on Monday, May 15, was unfortunately suspended due to persistent rain. However, the match will be completed on Tuesday, May 16. Musetti put on an impressive performance on the Grand Stand Arena and managed to take a 5-7, 6-4, 2-1 lead, and currently holds a break in the deciding set.

During the match, Tiafoe played an underarm serve against Musetti which was met with a round of boos from the crowd. Despite the negative reaction, Tiafoe remained unfazed, and instead, he confidently placed his palms against his ears and encouraged the Italian spectators to boo even louder.

A video of that moment has been doing the rounds on social media and you can watch it below:

How has Frances Tiafoe fared so far in 2023?

Frances Tiafoe at the 2023 Internazionali BNL D'Italia

Frances Tiafoe kicked off his 2023 season at the inaugural United Cup. This came after his remarkable performance at the 2022 US Open, where he made history by becoming the first American to defeat Rafael Nadal in a Major since wildcard James Blake at the 2005 US Open.

Tiafoe then competed in the Australian Open, where he defeated Daniel Altmaier and Juncheng Shang to advance to the third round. However, his impressive run was unfortunately cut short by Karen Khachanov.

The American reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal at Indian Wells. He defeated Marcos Giron, Jason Kubler, Alejandro Tabilo, and Cameron Norrie without dropping a single set.

Unfortunately, Tiafoe's brilliant run came to an end when he faced Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. This was followed by a third-round exit at the Miami Open at the hands of Lorenzo Sonego.

Frances Tiafoe then competed in the Houston Open, where he triumphed in the final against Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(1), 7-6(6). This marked the second ATP singles trophy of his career.

Following his success in Houston, Tiafoe headed to the Barcelona Open, where he lost in the opener to Emil Ruusuvuori.

Tiafoe then participated in the Madrid Masters, where he, unfortunately, suffered a defeat in the third round at the hands of Pedro Cachin. However, he teamed up with fellow American Taylor Fritz for the doubles.

Despite their best efforts, the pair were unable to overcome their opponents, Jean-Julian Roger and Marcelo Arevalo, and were eliminated from the ATP 1000 tournament.