(Reuters) – Canadian Vasek Pospisil threw a profanity-laced tantrum aimed at the ATP Tour’s chairman during his first-round loss to American Mackenzie McDonald at the Miami Open on Wednesday.
The meltdown, which included angrily hitting a ball out of the court and shouting at the chair umpire, began when the world number 67 smashed his racket on the court late in the first set of his 6-3 4-6 6-3 defeat.
A verbal abuse penalty on set point cost him the first set and the longtime ATP critic decided to target chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.
“For an hour-and-a-half yesterday, chair of the ATP ******* screaming at me in a player meeting for trying to unite the players,” he said to chair umpire Arnaud Gabas.
“For an hour and a half. The leader of the ATP. Get him out here. ******* *******. Why am I supporting this?”
Pospisil and world number one Novak Djokovic last year launched the Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA), which they said is designed to better protect the interests of players.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; editing by Richard Pullin)
