Tiafoe and Sinner to renew rivalry in Vienna after dirty tactics controversy

Frances Tiafoe and Jannik Sinner are set to renew their rivalry in the quarterfinals of the Vienna Open on Friday, two years after a dramatic match in which the Italian accused his opponent of using “dirty tactics.”

Sinner was serving for the match at 6-3 5-3 in their 2021 semi-final when Tiafoe could be heard shouting on the other side of the net. The Italian was furious after the match, blasting Tiafoe for showing “disrespect.”

“In my opinion, today Tiafoe went too far, has done too much,” Sinner 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 men have vastly improved since their last meeting. Sinner is currently sitting at a career-high of No. 4 in the world and won his maiden Masters title this year in Canada. Meanwhile, Tiafoe enjoyed a big breakthrough at Grand Slam level when he reached the 2022 US Open semi-final, beating Rafael Nadal en route. He has since made his top-10 debut.

Sinner still leads their head-to-head by two wins to one defeat, but his only match wins came four years ago. It will be fascinating to see how this latest chapter in their rivalry unfolds.