New York Police Department commissioner Bill Bratton has offered an apology to former tennis player James Blake after he was mistakenly arrested on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old American was handcuffed for 15 minutes after being pushed to the ground by five plainclothes police officers.

The authorities mistook Blake for a suspect in a theft case when they spotted him standing outside a hotel in the city.

Bratton told a press conference: "I would be very interested in talking to him to extend my apologies. Mr Blake had no role or involvement in the criminal investigation that we were conducting and was totally innocent."

At the time, Blake was waiting for a car to take him to Flushing Meadows in Queens for the US Open.