Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semi-final match against Novak Djokovic, after he shot a ball that rebounded towards the crowd, hitting a spectator in the eye.
Medvedev, ranked fifth in the world, was trailing 7-5, 5-3, and had lost a point when he hit a ball that bounced off the wall.
In a moment of anger, the Russian hit a ball towards the spectators sitting behind him, after it bounced off the advertising boards at the back of the stadium. The spectator, who was sitting in the first row, placed his hands over his left eye and appeared to be in pain as he left the stands with the assistance of stadium staff.
Moments later, the chair referee informed him of the decision to disqualify him, giving Djokovic a pass to his first final since the Australian Open final last January. On Tuesday, the 39-year-old Serbian will try to win the 102nd title in his career, when he faces Australian Alex de Minaur (ninth).
Lauren Hemp scored two goals, as Manchester City succeeded in coming back from two deficits and defeating Arsenal 4-2, in the English Women’s Premier League, on Sunday, and the champion maintained the top spot in the standings before the international break after achieving its fifth consecutive victory in its first five matches.
Arsenal took the lead with a goal scored by Lisa Baum in the 43rd minute, but City equalized when Hemp shot the ball into the goal from a tight angle during stoppage time of the first half.
Alessia Russo restored Arsenal's lead 4 minutes after the start of the second half, but Manchester City came back again, as Kirsten Kaspareg equalized in the 63rd minute, before Hemp put her team in front for the first time 9 minutes later.
Jamaican striker Khadija Shaw sealed the three points in the 84th minute with her fifth goal this season, dooming Arsenal, who had not achieved a win since the opening round of the season, to a second defeat in a row after losing 1-0 to Chelsea away from home last week.
With this loss, Arsenal remains in 10th place with 5 points from 5 matches after a bad start to the season.
Earlier in the afternoon, Chelsea, led by coach Sonia Bombastor, defeated West Ham United 3-0 to occupy second place, two points behind Manchester City.
The team took the lead thanks to a goal scored by Melvyn Mallard, then added two goals in the final minutes by Keira Walsh and Mika Hamano.
The London City Lions proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the title race, with Alexia Potias scoring twice in the first half of the match, which ended in a crushing 6-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, who were shocked by the pressure exerted by the visiting team.
Tottenham only conceded two goals in the first 4 matches, but conceded 6 goals, while the London City team achieved its third successive victory with an impressive performance to rise to third place with 12 points.
As for Charlton Athletic, who are still searching for their first point since their promotion, they remain at the bottom of the 14-team table after their crushing 5-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion. Kiko Seki scored two goals for Brighton.
Everton's strong start this season continued with a 2-1 victory over Birmingham City. This raised it to fifth place in the standings with 9 points, two points ahead of its local rival Liverpool, who lost 1-0 to Manchester United on Saturday.
England national team coach, German Thomas Tuchel, said that “Three Lions” captain Harry Kane is driven by a high desire to achieve achievements and break records, with the German Bayern Munich striker close to equaling the record for the number of international appearances with his country against the Czech Republic.
Kane will reach 125 international matches, equaling the record set by former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, if he participates in Tuesday’s match against the Czech Republic in the European Nations League at Wembley Stadium.
This will be a new station in the 33-year-old player’s career full of achievements.
Kane tops the list of all-time top scorers for his country, after raising his tally to 89 goals by scoring a brace during the sweeping 7-0 victory over Croatia on Saturday.
He also became the all-time top scorer for the English club Tottenham, with 280 goals, before leaving the London club and joining Bayern in 2023.
Kane has continued to break records since his move to the Bavarian giant. In September, he completed a record that had stood for 49 years, after he became the fastest player to score 100 goals in the German League, achieving this in his 98th match in the competition.
Tuchel believes that Cain's continued success is fueled by a strong competitive tendency that constantly drives him to chase more records.
The German coach told reporters on Monday: “I think that all these outspoken strikers in the world, regardless of the league they play in or even age-group football, have a slightly different composition.”
He added: “They do not only play for their team to win, but they also do it for themselves, and for the sake of records.”
He continued: “How many goals can I score? How many assists can I make? Who is the league's top scorer? Who should I pass? Where is the next record?
He added: “You will not find a scorer of this level who does not set these individual goals in front of him and does not push him to reach his maximum limits. That's what motivates him, that's who Harry is.”
After he did not succeed in winning any title with Tottenham, Kane won two German League titles during his time in Munich.
His remarkable level during the year 2026 made him one of the candidates for the Ballon d’Or award, which is scheduled to be announced later in October.
Tuchel said: “I am not sure there are more words I can say, because I feel that he is constantly scoring and performing at great levels, and he is on the short list of candidates for the Ballon d’Or.”
He added: “Everything he does, he does at the highest level, and he does it constantly.”
He continued: “Since he assumed this pivotal role with Bayern Munich, he has risen to a new level, whether on or off the field, and is now at the highest levels.”
Tuchel lost the services of Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott and Arsenal defender Ezri Konsa to the Czech Republic, after the duo withdrew from the national team camp due to injury.
Scott made his first start for England against Croatia, but he suffers from a thigh injury that will keep him out, according to reports, for about two months.
England ranks second in Group C of the first level of the Nations League with six points, three points behind leaders Spain.
