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See the awkward moment Andy Murray breaks commemorative plate ahead of Shenzhen Open

Andy Murray was left red-faced on Monday after accidentally dropping and smashing a special commemorative plate he had been given in honour of his contribution to tennis in China. The tennis player, who returns to the Shenzhen Open this week, was posing for photos with the prize when it slipped out of the open presentation box and smashed on the floor.

The 31-year-old could be heard apologising as officials rushed to pick up the broken plate, saying "I'm so sorry" and putting his hand up to his face. But it seems he saw the funny side, and later shared the clip on Instagram Stories, writing: "Woops".

Andy-Murray-drops-prize
Andy-Murray-drops-prize

Andy Murray was presented with commemorative plate in China

Andy will return to the tennis court on Tuesday after a lengthy injury spell. The 31-year-old will face Zhizeng Zhang of China in what will be his penultimate competition of 2018 so he can spend time focusing on returning to peak condition for the 2019 season.

MORE: Why Duchess Kate once sent Andy Murray an apology letter

The dad-of-two told ATP: "I'm not quite back to where I'd like to be yet, but kind of improving each week. Hopefully, I can play some good tennis and get on a bit of a run."

Andy-Murray-drops-prize-1
Andy-Murray-drops-prize-1

The tennis player was mortified after accidentally smashing the plate

Andy was disappointed at the beginning of September not to be able to play in the Davis Cup, which he said was possibly his last opportunity to compete in his native Scotland as a professional. He took to Instagram at the time to share an apology to his fans, writing: "I have genuinely loved competing in this Davis cup format over the course of my career and have had some of the most memorable and special moments of my career competing for my country."

STORY: Andy Murray vows to make a quick recovery from injury for his children

He added: "With this possibly being my last chance to compete in Scotland as a professional I really wanted to be there with the team and found this decision emotionally quite challenging."

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