Sept. 24 (UPI) — Andy Murray only got to hold a commemorative gift plate for seconds, before dropping and shattering it ahead of the Shenzhen Open in China.
Murray battles China’s Zhang Zhizhen in the round of 32 at the tournament at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the Shenzhen Longgang Tennis Center.
He posted a video of himself accepting the accolade on Monday morning on Instagram, with the caption “Woops.”
Murray held the gold plate briefly as he smiled for photos. He tiled the box and the plate eventually slid out of its container, before shattering on the ground.
“I’m so sorry,” Murray said, as he held his hand over his face.
Another person nearby said they would get Murray another plate following the mishap. The No. 311 player in the world is down three spots in the ATP rankings. Murray, 31, won his last grand slam at the 2016 Wimbledon championships. He fell to Fernando Verdasco in the round of 64 at the 2018 U.S. Open.
Murray said on Saturday in a Facebook post that next week’s tournament in Beijing will be his last tournament of the year.
“I’ve decided along with my team that I need a long period of training and reconditioning to get myself in the best shape possible for the beginning of the 2019 season and getting myself back competing for the biggest tournaments again,” Murray said.
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