At the Auckland Classic, Cameron Norrie apologized after accidentally hitting a spectator with his thrown racquet during a match against Facundo Diaz Acosta, which he lost in straight sets. 

The athlete was given a warning due to the incident that occurred when he was 6-2 5-2 behind his opponent, but he was not disqualified. 

Norrie said: “I was not meaning to do that and it is completely not me to do something like that… I apologized very quickly and I want to apologize in general. I’m not happy with how I behaved.”

In an Instagram story, Norrie also said: “Tough way to exit in AKL – apologies to all who came to support. My attitude was not there yesterday and need to be better. Much love Aotearoa.”

The incident 

Norrie threw his racquet behind him and into the crowd due to frustration after the former world No. 8 netted to give the match point to Diaz Acosta of Argentina. The chair umpire made sure the woman who was hit was unharmed and proceeded to give Norrie a warning for unsportsmanlike behaviour. 

After three points, Diaz Acosta won with a final score of 6-2 6-3. 

“[The spectator] was laughing and I just said ‘so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that’. And she said ‘yeah, I’m completely OK’. That was not a big deal… But as we saw with some other players, you can easily be defaulted if it catches them in the wrong spot or they’re not looking or something,” Norrie added. 

Novak Djokovic was disqualified after accidentally striking a ball towards a line judge during the 2020 US Open’s fourth round. Denis Shapovalov of Canada was defaulted for striking the umpire with a ball in a Davis Cup match against Great Britain in 2017, and David Nalbandian was disqualified at the 2012 Queen’s after kicking an advertising board into the shin of a line judge.

Source: BBC

At the Stockholm Open, Jacob Fearnley of Britain defeated Corentin Moutet and extended his winning streak to 13 matches. 

About a year ago, Fearnley had no ranking. However, after winning four straight Challenger titles, he made his way inside the top 100. The 23-year-old athlete qualified for the ATP 250 event in Sweden by winning two qualifying matches after taking a few weeks of break. 

Moreover, Fearnley defeated Moutet of France 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) to advance and face the seventh seed Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the second round. The athlete won his maiden ATP Tour match at Wimbledon last July after receiving a wildcard. This is his second career victory. 

According to the ATP records, Jacob Fearnley’s rise to being 98th in the world from 646th at the beginning of the year and 1,893rd last September 2023 is the fourth-largest move into the top since 2000. 

In other news, Cameron Norrie lost to Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4 as he made his comeback from an arm injury. 

Source: BBC

Andy Murray, the former world number one, defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the Queen’s Club Championships second round. This also marks his 1,000th tour-level singles match.

Murray’s victory was also his first on the Tour since the Miami Open. Murray, who entered Queen’s as a wild card, is aiming for a sixth championship here. 

Murray admitted: “I didn’t realize, my mum told me it’s my 1,000th match on tour. A lot of matches and a lot of wear and tear on the body. It’s not easy, but I’m pushing through it.” 

“I haven’t gotten too many wins this year. It’s been a difficult season, but I did well to come through in the end… Any win you can get is important, that’s why we’re playing. To try and win matches. With Wimbledon a few weeks away, I want to try and build up confidence and get some matches in my legs,” he added. 

Murray back on track 

Murray, the first British player to win a Wimbledon championship in the Open era, thought about quitting in the early months of 2019 because of his hip injury issues, but he eventually went back to playing.

The Briton made a mistake in the second set when Popyrin served well to force a decider, but Murray romped to his 739th victory with a volley at the net on match point, playing in front of home supporters and his mother Judy watching.

Despite winning Wimbledon twice, Murray has not advanced past the third round at the All England Club in the last three years. He will next play against Australia’s Jordan Thompson at Queen’s.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon winner, easily defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 7-5 to go to the next round, while Lorenzo Musetti of Italy defeated second seed Alex de Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Source: CNA

The top-seeded British player Katie Boulter defeated Sara Errani of Italy in straight sets to advance to the last 16 at the Ningbo Open. 

Despite her form dropping since the grass-court season, Boulter defeated the seasoned Italian with a dominating win despite seven double faults.

Highlights of the match 

After a lengthy break caused by severe rain, Boulter returned to the court with the score tied at 2-2. She then went on to dominate and win the first set with a score of 6-3. 

Her Italian opponent was defeated early in the second set as Boulter strengthened her lead with a hold of serve to take a 3-0 advantage. When Boulter was forced a second break of serve, she went up to 4-0. However, she went down when she served for the set at 5-1, but came back immediately to end the match. 

The athlete will now face Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil for a place in the quarter-finals. 

American Emma Navarro and French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini, two of the top seeds in Ningbo, have already withdrawn from the competition. 

Source: Sky Sports

At the Stuttgart Open, Emma Raducanu of Britain defeated Linda Noskova in an impressive way to earn a matchup with Iga Swiatek in the final eight meetings. Her exceptional performance in the game resulted in a record 6-0 7-5 earned with ease in just 81 minutes of play. 

The 21-year-old’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be world no. 1 and reigning champion Swiatek, who defeated Elise Mertens with a score of  6-3 6-4. With a perfect nine-match record in Stuttgart, Swiatek has a 2-0 winning streak against Raducanu.

Raducanu stated: “It’s a match where I have nothing to lose, I can just swing and enjoy it… We played here two years ago in the quarters, so it’s the same. I’ve come a long way in two years, I’ve matured a lot and she has achieved so much.” 

Raducanu – Recent Woes

Raducanu’s injured 2023 playing season—during which she underwent ankle and wrist surgery—has caused her to fall to 303rd in the world rankings. Raducanu maintained her form after defeating three-time major champion Angelique Kerber. She played a controlled match against Linda Noskova, making only seven unforced errors compared to Noskova’s number 31. 

“This isn’t my best, I still have a long way to go. I am just really happy the rewards are starting to come on the match court,” declared Raducanu. 

The Briton athlete added: “Going through everything I went through after the US Open and last year, having eight months out with surgery, it gives you new appreciation and there’s nothing like playing in front of fans, playing good tennis and building on it match by match.”

Cover Photo: IG

Source: BCC

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