WATCH: Daniil Medvedev Disqualified After Ball Hits Fan In Eye During Novak Djokovic China Open Semi-Final
Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic on Monday after hitting a rebounding ball into the crowd, with the ball striking a spectator in the eye. The Russian world No. 5 was trailing Djokovic 7-5, 5-3 when the extraordinary incident brought the match to an abrupt end in Beijing. Not the ending we expected @DjokerNole advances to the Beijing final…
On Monday, Daniil Medvedev was dismissed from his China Open semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic following a ball striking a spectator in the eye. The Russian, ranked fifth, was losing 7-5, 5-3 when the incident occurred, which brought the contest to a sudden halt in Beijing. Djokovic advanced to the Beijing final after Medvedev was defaulted while trailing 5-7, 3-5.
The match had been a close, two-hour and 29-minute battle before the unfortunate turn of events. Medvedev, trailing Djokovic after losing a point, struck the ball that rebounded off the back wall and hit the fan around the left eye. The spectator immediately grasped his face and was swiftly removed by stadium staff. An ATP official and chair umpire discussed the situation with Medvedev before he was defaulted.
Medvedev did not dispute the decision and later expressed regret, describing the incident as an accident and wishing to apologize personally to the spectator.
The disqualification gave Djokovic, a six-time Beijing champion, a place in the final where he will face Alex de Minaur. The Serbian extended his unbeaten China Open record to 33-0 after another dramatic victory. Medvedev's disqualification also cost him the $200,000 prize money and 200 ranking points he earned during the tournament.
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