Players risk being defaulted on the spot if they hit away a ball that makes contact with a ball kid, line judge, umpire, or spectator, and Musetti was well aware that his Roland Garros campaign could have been over.

After regrouping to reach his first semi-final in Paris, the 23-year-old said: “Yeah, honestly it was really unlucky coincidence.

“Yeah, I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn't want to harm nobody, of course. So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, 'sorry, I apologise to everyone'.

“It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that's why probably just, you know, let me continue my game.”

However, his opponent didn’t seem to be as forgiving. Tiafoe was at his bench, grabbing a racket when he saw Musetti kick the ball, and he appeared to alert the umpire.

After losing in four sets, the world No. 16 made his feelings on the incident clear. “Yeah, I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened,” Tiafoe said.

“I think that's comical, but it is what it is. Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously it's not consistent, so it is what it is.”

Other players have been disqualified for similar reasons. At the 2020 US Open, Novak Djokovic got a default for hitting a ball away in frustration, which unintentionally struck a lineswoman in the throat.

Former world No. 10 Denis Shapovalov also faced the same fate when he was just 17 years old. During a Davis Cup match, he accidentally smashed away a ball that hit the umpire in the eye.

Retired British star Tim Henman was defaulted for a similar accident during a 1995 Wimbledon men’s doubles match, and he admitted the umpire could have had grounds to penalise Musetti further.

“By the letter of the law, if you hit a ball away, kick a ball away in frustration and it hits a ball boy or a line judge or the umpire, that can be a disqualification. And so when you look at that, the umpire could have interpreted that as a disqualification,” he said on TNT Sports after the match.

“However, if Musetti was disqualified for that, I think Musetti would feel very unlucky and very aggrieved. But if you’re kicking a ball away you’ve either got to be a better footballer and kick it in the right direction, or you are risking something like that.”