Aussie tennis bad boy Klein regrets making racial remark
August 28th, 2009 - 1:47 pm ICT by ANISydney, Aug. 28 (ANI): Controversial Australian tennis player Brydan Klein has said that he deeply regrets making the racial slur that resulted in his suspension for six months.
In July, Klein, 19, was slapped with the ban, along with a 10,000-dollar fine by the ATP for making a racist remark to South African opponent Raven Klaasen during a qualifying match in England. Having just completed a racial sensitivity course, which should see his ban reduced to four months, Klein could return to competitive tennis by mid-November, The Courier-Mail reports. Speaking for the first time about the incident on Friday, he had given plenty of thought to what happened and apologised to Klaasen. “I’ve went over everything that happened and reflected and refreshed my mind. I’m going to seek more advice over these four months. It’s like a red mist, it happens and straight after you regret it.”Straight after it I called my opponent and apologised. He said he accepted my apology,” he told reporters.Klein says he plans to use the time off to get in the best possible shape ahead of the Australian summer. “I’m using this four months to my advantage. I’m going to try to work really hard on my mental side, and obviously my tennis, my physical side,” he said
The 2007 junior Australian Open winner has had run-ins with officialdom in the past, having been suspended from the Australian Institute of Sport for repeated on-court misbehaviour. Klein says he knows he cannot afford to slip up again. “I’m definitely on my last warning. This has been a step back for me and it hasn’t been a nice experience,” he said. (ANI)
- 'Racist' Oz Davis Cup star banned for calling opponent 'f***ing kaffir' - Jul 09, 2009
- Australian tennis player banned for racial abuse - Jul 09, 2009
- Somdev gets top billing at Singapore ATP Challenger - Jan 23, 2011
- Hewitt backtracks on Tomic's Davis Cup selection - Jan 22, 2010
- Somdev in second round of South African Open - Feb 01, 2011
- It's not going to happen again, vows teenaged dad - Dec 20, 2010
- Tennis players criticised for their outrageous dressing sense on court - Sep 01, 2010
- Rooney 'regretted cheating on wife' - Sep 12, 2010
- Klaasen to take on Yuki in the ITF final - May 01, 2009
- Serena Williams in a fix after her US Open final antics - Sep 12, 2011
- Murray knocked out of Cincinnati Masters as heat takes toll during quarterfinal tie - Aug 21, 2010
- Dementieva announces shock retirement from tennis to seek 'big change in life' - Oct 30, 2010
- Harris returns to Australia Test squad - Dec 30, 2011
- 'Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi' Oz chant 'appalling, embarrassing' - Oct 26, 2010
- Christopher Farrell avoids jail - Jan 28, 2011
Tags: australian institute of sport, australian open, australian tennis player, bad boy, brydan klein, competitive tennis, courier mail, four months, institute of sport, klaasen, last warning, mail reports, misbehaviour, open winner, racial remark, racial sensitivity, racial slur, racist remark, red mist, sensitivity course
