Jannik Sinner accused Frances Tiafoe of having gone "too far" during their last clash at the Vienna Open back in 2021.
The pair are set to face each other in the quarter-final at the 2023 edition of the ATP 500 tournament. World No. 4 Sinner defeated Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets to reach this stage, while World No. 14 Tiafoe moved past Dan Evans after the Brit retired from their first-round clash before overcoming a three-set thriller against Gael Monfils.
The two players have faced each other three times in the past, with Sinner leading their head-to-head 2-1. Tiafoe's victory against the Italian player came at the semi-finals of the Vienna Open two years ago, but it was not without controversy.
For the first half of their match, Sinner looked to be the player in control, winning the first set 6-3 before serving for the match in the second. However, as he got ready to serve, Tiafoe could be heard shouting which many saw as an effort to throw his opponent off guard.
The tactic worked effectively, as the American was then able to fight back and win the second set before sealing the decider 6-2. However, Sinner made it clear after the match that he was not happy with the distraction technique.
"In my opinion, today Tiafoe went too far, has done too much," he said at the time, "It is one thing when the player tries to put on a show to put on a bit of a show, but it is quite another when you start to disrespect."
Both players have improved their level a lot since their meeting two years ago, so it will be exciting to see who prevails from a re-match of their dramatic clash two years ago.
The last match in Vienna was controversial 😬 Tiafoe, when Jannik serves for the match, start trying to deconcentrate Jan by, for example, shouting before the serve and won in 3 set. At the end of the match Jannik said that Tiafoe "went too far" and "there was no respect".
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