The Miami Open may be missing a whole host of top players and all of the seeds have byes to the second round (therefore not taking the court until Friday), but Vasek Pospisil made sure to keep the tournament in headlines on the opening day of main-draw action.
Pospisil imploded mentally at the end of the first set and in between the first and second sets of his loss to Mackenzie McDonald on Monday evening.
The 30-year-old Canadian incurred a point penalty for verbal abuse to end the opening set, as it came while he was serving down 3-5, 15-40. During the changeover he complained to chair umpire Arnaud Gabas about an apparent meeting the previous day between the ATP board and the players.
“What’s happening today?,” Pospisil responded when Gabas asked him what was happening to cause his unusually poor behavior. “For an hour and half yesterday, the chair of the ATP [expletive] 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.… [expletive] asshole.”
“That’s enough,” Gabas said. “If you need to say something to him, then do it outside this court, please.”
“Why am I supporting this [expletive]…,” Pospisil muttered to himself, before returning to Gabas. “If you wanna default me, I’ll gladly sue this entire organization.”
Pospisil rebounded to take the second set but eventually fell to McDonald 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
The world No. 67 did not hold what would have been a highly-anticipated press conference following the match. He did, however, post an apology–and a brief explanation–on Twitter later that night.
wild scenes
Sorry, I have zero sympathy for the PTPA and whatever its aims are. They seem to think there’s some kind of “right to play tennis and be well paid for it whether or no anyone wants to pay to see you play or sponsor you”. God knows pro tennis should get its act together, but I can’t see that this PTPA is doing anything to aid in that. PopOff would do well to remember that this chairman is in place because his good ol’ boy Djoker decided to get rid of a perfectly good chairman, in the fond hope of installing Justin Gimelstob, of all people!
I also have scant sympathy for the type of person who gets screamed at by his boss and then goes home to kick the dog. Or worse.