Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his semifinal against Novak Djokovic at the China Open after he hit a ball into the stands that struck a spectator in the front row on Monday. The spectator was helped out of the arena, holding a hand over his left eye. Djokovic was serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3 when Medvedev hit the ball into the stands in apparent frustration.
After a forehand volley winner from Djokovic, the ball bounced off the advertising boards and back towards Medvedev, who smacked a backhand that sailed into the stands. The spectator who was hit was helped away as Medvedev stood on the court watching. The chair umpire and tournament supervisor came down onto the court to talk to Medvedev, who didn’t appear to put up much of an argument with the disqualification.
Medvedev then walked to the net and shook hands with Djokovic. The incident was reminiscent of when Djokovic was kicked out of the 2020 US Open for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. I hope that person is not badly injured.
On the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil, because I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match. … I am sure that Daniil didn’t want to do this intentionally. It just happens.” Medvedev has a history of on-court behaviour issues. He was fined 6,000 euros ($7,000) for unsportsmanlike conduct after he smashed his racket seven times during a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this year.
Djokovic extended his perfect career record at the China Open to 33-0. Aiming for a seventh China Open title in Tuesday’s final, Djokovic will face ninth-ranked Alex de Minaur, who advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired due to an apparent injury midway through the second set of their semifinal. It will be Djokovic’s second final of the year after losing to Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open.
With his ranking down to No. 11, this is the first time in eight years that Djokovic is playing a tournament without being in the top 10. It is also his first tournament since a first-round exit from the US Open. The 39-year-old Serb rallied to beat top-seeded Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals on Sunday.
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