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CAMERON NORRIE has issued an apology after angrily throwing his racquet into the stands and hitting a fan.

The former British No1 was battered 6-2 6-3 by Facundo Diaz Acosta in the first round of the Auckland Classic as his patchy form continues.

Cameron Norrie threw his racquet in frustration and accidentally struck a fan in the crowd
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Cameron Norrie threw his racquet in frustration and accidentally struck a fan in the crowdCredit: X @SkySportsTennis
Norrie was quick to apologise to the fan, who was unharmed following the incident
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Norrie was quick to apologise to the fan, who was unharmed following the incidentCredit: X @SkySportsTennis
Norrie cut a frustrated figure during his heavy defeat in New Zealand as his Australian Open preparations were dealt a huge blow
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Norrie cut a frustrated figure during his heavy defeat in New Zealand as his Australian Open preparations were dealt a huge blowCredit: Getty

And after gifting his Argentine opponent a match point by duffing a forehand return into the net, Norrie tossed his racquet away.

It flew into the stands and struck a female fan - who was fortunately not hurt.

Norrie was given a stern warning but will face no further punishment.

In 2020, Novak Djokovic was controversially disqualified from the US Open for accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball.

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Norrie - who has struggled for form since reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2022 - has apologised for the shocking incident.

The world No48 said: "I wasn't meaning to do that but it's still not ideal to be doing that and I've never done something like that.

"She was laughing and I just said 'so sorry, I didn't mean to do that'.

"And she said 'yeah, I'm completely OK'.

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"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.

";I was not meaning to do that and it is completely not me to do something like that.

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"I apologised very quickly and I want to apologise in general.

"I'm not happy with how I behaved."

After missing a huge chunk of 2024 with injury, Norrie appeared to be rediscovering some form after reaching the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open.

But his preparations for the first Grand Slam of the season - the Australian Open - suffered a blow in New Zealand, the nation in which he grew up.

After the straight sets mauling in Auckland, Norrie will now fly to Melbourne.

The Australian Open begins on Sunday - with the ex-Brit No1 having never made it past the fourth round Down Under.

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