Chip on his shoulder? Aussie tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios calls ATP boss a POTATO after season restart announcement

Not known for sitting on the fence nor mincing his words, Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has branded ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi a “potato” on social media.

Posted via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, a statement from Gaudenzi discussed the planned resumption of the tour in mid-August after its coronavirus-enforced suspension. 

“It has been a truly collaborative effort & we hope to add more events to the calendar as the situation evolves," the tweet read.  

"I would like to recognise our tournaments' efforts to operate during these challenging times, as well as our players who will be competing under different conditions.”

The ATP is scheduled to return on August 14, with the Citi Open in Washington DC taking place before the Grand Slam US Open tournament.

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Wasting no time, Kyrgios retweeted the correspondence to voice his disapproval.

“Cheers mate, you’ve really looked after the players during this time. Seriously (face palm smiley) fk (sic) me, how about you have a collaborative effort with us, potato,” went his critical response.

Kyrgios has been a vocal critic of the rush to resme tennis, earlier this week calling “people in the US” - likely meaning American tennis organizers - “selfish” for “pushing the Open to go ahead.”

“I’ll get my hazmat suit ready for when I travel from Australia and then have to quarantine for 2 weeks on my return,” he added.