In a scary moment on Day 1 of the 2023 Australian Open, Frances Tiafoe, his opponent Daniel Altmaier, and spectators during their match were stunned by a huge explosive sound. A few moments later, however, everyone present in the Kia Arena could breathe a huge sigh of relief, after realizing that the sound was only caused by the bursting of a huge dummy tennis ball.
As Altmaier prepared to hit a serve during the fourth set, both players, officials, and the crowd were taken aback by a huge ‘pop’ sound. As tournament organizers and security personnel rushed to get a hold of the situation, they realized that a young fan’s giant tennis ball, mostly used for players’ autographs, had lost its shape and exploded, causing the uproar.
While everyone involved was safe and relieved and could even afford to have a laugh about it later, there were a few anxious moments inside the Kia Arena. Unfortunately, for the young fan who held the giant tennis ball, it was a bit embarrassing, through no fault of their own.
Meanwhile, Frances Tiafoe ended up on the winning side of a match that kept getting interesting as it progressed. After winning the first two sets comfortably, Altmaier made things very tough for the American, who eventually found his rhythm back to win 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(6).
As far as the explosive sound caused by the tennis ball is concerned, quite surprisingly, it was a moment of deja vu for Tiafoe.
Frances Tiafoe experienced a similar scare during Paris Masters 2022 match against Alex de Minaur
Believe it or not, this is the second such instance of a massive explosive sound caused by the explosion of a tennis ball leading to a momentary scare in a match involving Frances Tiafoe.
The American’s match against Australian Alex de Minaur at the 2022 Paris Masters in November was interrupted for a brief period after everyone in the stadium was shocked by a huge sound, which turned out to be caused by a similar giant tennis ball exploding. Luckily for Tiafoe, his opponents on both occasions, and everyone else involved, no harm was caused to anyone.
Meanwhile, in his Australian Open match on Monday, Tiafoe’s unique Nike outfit also grabbed a lot of attention. The 24-year-old, seeded 16th in Melbourne this year, will face Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang in the second round on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal’s outfit for Australian Open 2023 revealed
