Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semifinal match against Novak Djokovic on Monday after striking a spectator in the face with a tennis ball.
The third-seeded Russian was trailing 7-5, 5-3 in Beijing when he swiped at a ball that had bounced off the back wall. The ball sailed into the stands and hit a fan, who was seen holding his eye as he was helped out of the arena.
Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani and an ATP Tour official conferred before making the decision to end the match.
“Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all,” Medvedev said, per BBC Sport. “I’m trying to get in touch with him, if he wants it. Hopefully I can apologize in person and see how he feels. I just hope he’s OK. That’s the most important (thing). I just really care about him right now.”
Djokovic, who was defaulted from a fourth-round match at the U.S. Open in 2020 for a similar incident, called the situation a “bit of a shock.”
“Sorry for the person (who got hit). I honestly didn’t see what happened,” he said. “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 was disqualified at the 2020 U.S. Open in similar circumstances. I am sure that Daniil didn’t want to do this intentionally. It just happens.”
Djokovic, 39, a six-time China Open champion, improved to 33-0 at the tournament. The sixth-seeded Serbian will face Australia’s Alex de Minaur, the No. 5 seed, for the title on Tuesday.
“I was three points away from the win,” Djokovic said. “It was a grueling battle and I definitely didn’t want (a) third set. It was looking like that. I don’t know how many break points I saved, it was crazy. It’s always a big battle with Daniil and it’s so hard to play him, when he’s feeling the ball well in slower conditions with a big serve. But we move on.”
Medvedev, 30, collected his 24th career title last week at China’s Hangzhou Open. He won his lone Grand Slam championship to date at the 2021 U.S. Open, beating Djokovic in straight sets in the final.
–Field Level Media
