BEIJING (AP) — Lorenzo Musetti has become the latest tennis star to apologize to Chinese fans.

“I am truly sorry. I respect you deeply, I feel at home here, and I value the warmth and kindness I have always received from you,” the 23-year-old Italian said in a message he posted Saturday on social media.

Musetti was annoyed by coughing in the crowd during his round-of-32 win on Friday against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the China Open in Beijing.

“I would like to sincerely apologize for what I said in frustration yesterday during my match,” Musetti wrote on Instagram. “My words were directed only at a few individuals in the crowd who were coughing repeatedly and disturbing the play. They were never, in any way, meant for the Chinese people. It happened in a moment of stress and tension

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