Frances Tiafoe speaks out after exploding at Shanghai Masters umpire in sweary rant

Frances Tiafoe has issued a heartfelt apology after repeatedly screaming "f*** you" at a Shanghai Masters umpire moments after his three-set defeat to Roman Safiullin.

The American appeared calm after going down 5-7 7-5 7-6 (5) when he shook his opponent's hand at the net, but turned to chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote and .

Tiafoe was penalised at 5-5 in the deciding tiebreak, while the Ecuadorian official also took a first serve away from Tiafoe due to another time violation, prompting Tiafoe to snub a handshake from Pinoargote and instead launch into a sweary rant.

After shaking hands with the victorious world No. 61, Tiafoe turned his attention to the umpire and shouted: "F*** you man. F*** you. Seriously man. You f***ed me the f***ing match.

"Three f***ing hours and you're going to do that. Why? You f***ed the match up. Great f***ing job. F***."

Hours after the defeat, Tiafoe took to Instagram and posted a story where he apologised to Pinoargote, the Shanghai Masters and fans who were in attendance for his outburst.

"I really apologise for the way I acted tonight," Tiafoe wrote. "That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people. I let the frustration in the heat of the moment get the best of me and I'm extremely disappointed with how I handled the situation.

"That's not acceptable behaviour and I want to apologise to the umpire, the tournament, and the fans. I'll be better for yall."

Tiafoe's frustrations began when he was hit with a time violation at 5-5, losing a first serve at a crucial moment.

"Time violation, loss of serve. Mr Tiafoe," Pinoargote announced, which saw Tiafoe storm over to the official and protest his innocence: "No. No, no, no. I tossed the ball up. I tossed the ball up. I tossed the ball. I was back behind and I tossed the ball. I tossed the ball and I was ready to serve."

The umpire insisted that he was "not buying this" and informed Tiafoe that due to the infringement being his second of the match, was stripped of a first serve.

Tiafoe continued to vent his frustrations, replying: "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 defeat ensured that Safiullin will now take on for a place in the quarter-finals, with Tiafoe still waiting for his first title win since victory on the Stuttgart grass in June 2023.