In a confusing moment, Lorenzo Musetti was warned for unsportsmanlike conduct for kicking a tennis ball that inadvertently hit a linesperson during his French Open quarterfinal against Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday. Unlike most top-level tennis tournaments, which rely on electronic line-calling, there are still humans on court at Roland-Garros to make rulings on whether shots land in or out. The eighth-seeded Musetti, who won a bronze medal for Italy at the Paris Olympics and was a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year, had just dropped a game to trail Tiafoe 5-3 in the second set of their match at Court Philippe-Chatrier. As Musetti was given balls so he could serve in the next game, he took a left-footed swipe at one, and it flew into a female line judge making calls behind his baseline. Lorenzo Musetti received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct after this incident ? #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ted26XaBUv — TNT Sports (@tntsports) June 3, 2025 The chair umpire immediately announced to the crowd that Musetti was being given a warning for a code violation. There is no penalty for an initial warning of that sort. Soon, Tiafoe claimed that set. Musetti had taken the opener in the best-of-five-set match with a semifinal berth at stake. There would be no stopping the Italian as well, who would swarm Tiafoe with a plethora of sleek backhands to dominate the American, and win the endeavour 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 after over two hours and 45 minutes of battle on Court Philippe Chatrier. He next plays either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain or American Tommy Paul for a place in the final. Told by the post-match interviewer that he has an elegant game, Musetti joked: “I mean, we are Italian. We are elegant.” He is 13-4 in his French Open career, and three of those losses came against an opponent ranked No. 1 — Novak Djokovic twice, and Alcaraz once. (with agency inputs)