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Tiafoe to French Open opponent: ‘Don’t act like you’re tough. You’re not hard, bro. Just play’

PARIS (AP) — Frances Tiafoe had some strong words for his opponent during another grueling five-set victory at the French Open on Saturday.

Tiafoe and Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria started arguing about a call early in the fifth set.

“Don’t act like you’re tough. You’re not hard, bro. Just play,” Tiafoe told Faria.

Faria then complained to the chair umpire as the players approached each other at the net: “You see what he’s saying?”

The chair umpire told both players to be quiet.

Tiafoe won the third-round match 4-6, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-2 in exactly four hours.

“I needed that,” Tiafoe said of the exchange. “Because I’m up at the time but I’m still a little nervous. And he was chirping. He definitely gave me a lot of lip. He thought he was (boxer) Ryan Garcia or something.”

Tiafoe next meets Matteo Arnaldi, who eliminated Raphael Collignon in a fifth-set tiebreaker after nearly five hours.

Tiafoe also beat Hubert Hurkacz in five sets in the second round.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka: ‘just want to quit tennis’ after French Open quarterfinal defeat

PARIS (AP) — After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka's wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while serving for the match at 5-4. What followed was a complete collapse as she lost 12 of the last 13 games against a player appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, looking increasingly frustrated and forlorn in the windy conditions. Just like her loss to Coco Gauff in last year's final, when she also won the first set before becoming undone with a slew of unforced errors, this one will take some time to get over.
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