Musetti apologises for outburst at 'coughing' China Open fans / Photo: Greg Baker - AFP
-
Kyrgios gets month ban for cocaine, enters treatment programme
-
Chile protesters see shades of Pinochet in new security plan
-
Colombian judge bans strikes on guerrillas if minors are present
-
Carreras reverts to fullback as Argentina change four for Australia Test
-
Khachanov shocks ailing Auger-Aliassime, Swiatek and Osaka advance at US Open
-
Wilson back to lead Australia as Kiss rotates team for Argentina
-
Lone juror blocking verdict in US mother's child murder trial: defense
-
Yen surges on new intervention talk, US stocks rally
-
'Kinda chic' - Williams sisters set to launch US Open doubles bid
-
Japan's Ueda fires Lille top of Ligue 1 on debut
-
Volkswagen says cutting 100,000 jobs by end of decade
-
Arsenal chief executive reveals 'dynasty' ambition
-
Russia slaps curfew on charity director over army criticism
-
Spanish PM says no 'solid proof' Morocco planned migrant rush
-
Ailing Auger-Aliassime upset by Khachanov at US Open
-
Iran war is not a war, US VP Vance says
-
Richarlison omitted from Tottenham's Premier League squad
-
Khachanov stuns third-seeded Auger-Aliassime in US Open second round
-
How El Nino is choking the Panama Canal
-
Bordeaux facing sixth-tier football after French federation upholds relegation
-
Hamilton drives his Ferrari dream at Monza
-
Stoic Verstappen looking beyond 'painful' Monza weekend
-
Senegal has an IMF loan, now what?
-
OpenAI begins rollout of new powerful AI model GPT-6 Astra
-
Auger-Aliassime upset by Khachanov at US Open
-
FIFA blasts UEFA 'smear campaign,' fights World Cup plan disclosures
-
Hugging Face, the French start-up that became AI's warehouse
-
Zelensky hopes to host US envoys in Kyiv in 'coming days'
-
World Cup winner Llorente retires from Spain team at 31
-
Martinelli joins Al-Hilal from Arsenal for reported £60 million
-
Osaka squeezes into US Open third round
-
Tesla's semi-autonomous driving could be adapted to EU norms: France
-
Apple faces £2 bn lawsuit in UK over app privacy feature
-
37 people die from fumes during oil pipeline theft in Nigeria: NGO
-
Former champ Swiatek eases into US Open third round
-
Ahead of elections, Israel tests West's patience on West Bank violence
-
DR Congo latest to promise moving Israel embassy to Jerusalem
-
Antonelli will obey Mercedes orders to help 'tow' teammate Russell
-
War criminal Mladic's body returns to Serbia with military honours
-
UK fintech Revolut gains conditional US banking licence
-
Pierre Cardin museum brings designer's futurist style to Venice
-
Mara sisters channel childhood energy for twins performance at Venice
-
Slovenian rookie Omrzel triumphs as Mas extends Vuelta lead
-
UN's Sudan probe says foreign fighters fuelling conflict
-
British, French leaders talk migrants, EU relations
-
Violence erupts at S.Africa anti-migrant protest
-
Heading for Ferrari's home race, Leclerc still dreams of world title
-
Nothing left: Nepal flood survivors face loss and uncertainty
-
Cafe at centre of Israel culture clash agrees to shut on Sabbath
-
Tesla to launch self-driving 'Cybercab' in Texas
Musetti apologises for outburst at 'coughing' China Open fans
Italian tennis player Lorenzo Musetti apologised on Saturday for an on-court outburst at people coughing in the crowd at the China Open.
The 23-year-old was visibly frustrated at one moment of his three-set win over Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Friday in Beijing.
The fourth seed mimicked a person clearing their throat and said in Italian: "They cough every three seconds."
Local media, including state-owned The Paper, accused him of also mouthing "damn Chinese".
"My words were directed only at a few individuals in the crowd who were coughing repeatedly and disturbing the play," Musetti wrote on Instagram on Saturday.
"They were never, in any way, meant for the Chinese people.
"It happened in a moment of stress and tension in the second tiebreak, but still, this is no excuse at all.
"I realise that the way I expressed myself was wrong and inappropriate, and it hurt many Chinese fans' feelings."
He next plays 37-year-old Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the last 16 of the China Open.
Musetti lost the Chengdu Open final to qualifier Alejandro Tabilo of Chile on Tuesday.
The Italian's remorse comes after American Taylor Townsend received a backlash for making disparaging comments about food served in China while competing at the Billie Jean King Cup in Shenzhen.
The US Open doubles finalist later pulled out of the China Open citing schedule changes.
O.Gaspar--PC
