Daniil Medvedev has been defaulted from his China Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic after hitting a fan in the crowd with the ball.
The Russian player was down 7-5, 5-3 with Djokovic serving for the match at 15-15, when world No 5 Medvedev failed to reach a Djokovic winner.
The ball then rebounded off the backboard and Medvedev hit the ball into the face of a fan sitting in the front row, who clutched his eye in pain and was taken away from the court.
🚨The moment when Medvedev got disqualified at the @ChinaOpen. pic.twitter.com/5GllzQvZsG
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 5, 2026
Chair umpire Mohammed Lahyani, after discussion with an ATP official, then defaulted 30-year-old Medvedev, in scenes not dissimilar to Novak Djokovic’s disqualification from the 2020 US Open – when the Serb hit a line umpire with the ball.
“It’s a bit of a shock to be honest, I hope that person is not badly injured,” Djokovic said.
“I also feel sorry for Daniil. I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match. I am sure that Daniil did not want to do this intentionally.”
It means Djokovic will face Alex de Minaur in Tuesday’s final in Beijing.
More to follow…
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