Vasek Pospisil Blasts ATP Chairman Gaudenzi During On-Court Meltdown [Video]

The story of the first day of play in the men’s draw at the Miami Masters was Vasek Pospisil’s epic meltdown during his match in which he blasted current ATP head Andrea Gaudenzi.

Pospisil lost his match to Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 but the Canadian made global headlines at the end of the first set.

Pospisil was out of sorts having just look two straight games to go down 5-3. Serving to stay in the match, he smashed a racquet earning a racquet abuse warning and then received a verbal abuse warning serving at 15-40. That was a point penalty and the set, and on the changeover the PTPA co-founder (Pro Tennis Players Association) launched his frustrations over Gaudenzi at chair umpire Arnaud Gabas:

“What’s happening today?” Pospisil told the chair on the set changeover.

“An hour and a half yesterday the chair of the ATP fucking screaming at me in a player meeting for trying to unite the players. For an hour and a half! The leader of the ATP, get him out here.

“Fucking asshole.

“Why am I supporting this fucking…

“You want to default me, I’ll gladly sue this whole organization…”

Pospisil later in the evening got on twitter to apologize:

“I want to sincerely apologize for my behavior on the court in Miami earlier today. I disrespected the game I love and for that I am truly sorry. By way of explanation, I felt deeply unnerved during a meeting between players and ATP executives last night, and..

I underestimated the toll those emotions took on me until I stepped onto the court today. Again, I am sorry for my on-court behavior and the language I used. #players

With Novak Djokovic not there to take the heat about the PTPA from the ATP, it sounds like Pospisil got the brunt of it from Gaudenzi.

Also on the Wednesday, Frances Tiafoe came from a set down to defeat Stefano Travaglia and Emil Ruusuvuori knocked out Spanish 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in three.

Thursday’s line-up include Marin Cilic, the lone Grand Slam champion in the men’s draw, along with Kevin Anderson, Sebastian Korda and Fernando Verdasco.