Medvedev banned after hitting fan with ball
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On Monday, Daniil Medvedev was ejected from his China Open semifinal match against Novak Djokovic following an incident where he struck a spectator in the face with a tennis ball. The third-seeded Russian was trailing 7-5, 5-3 when the ball, after bouncing off the back wall, landed in the stands and hit a fan. The fan was seen holding his eye as he was assisted out of the arena.
Medvedev was given a disqualification after chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani and an ATP Tour official discussed the situation. Medvedev expressed his apologies to the spectator, stating, "I'm terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all." He added that he was attempting to contact the fan to apologize in person and check on his well-being.
Djokovic, who was previously penalized for a similar incident in 2020, described the situation as a "bit of a shock" and expressed his sympathy for the spectator, as well as for Medvedev, who was familiar with the feeling of being disqualified in a significant match.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
