CNN —Australian tennis player Marc Polmans has said that he apologized to a chair umpire after hitting a ball in his face during a qualifying match at the Shanghai Masters. Polmans was leading Italy’s Stefano Napolitano 7-6 6-6 and had a match point in the tie break when he accidentally hit a ball at umpire Ben Anderson after netting a backhand volley. 140 was disqualified from Tuesday’s match, where a victory would have earned him a spot in the main draw. “The umpire, Ben, has accepted my apology for my actions – he knows it was unintentional and I shanked the ball on the frame in frustration in the heat of the moment,” Polmans said on X, formerly Twitter. Six years ago, Denis Shapovalov apologized and was fined $7,000 for inadvertently hitting a chair umpire with a ball during a Davis Cup match, while Novak Djokovic was defaulted from the 2020 US Open when he accidentally struck a line judge with a ball.

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Persons: Marc Polmans, Polmans, Italy’s Stefano Napolitano, Ben Anderson, Ben, ” Polmans, “, ”, Polman, Denis Shapovalov, Novak Djokovic Organizations: CNN, Shanghai Masters, ” Reuters, ATP Locations: Australian