Daniil Medvedev disqualified from China Open semifinal after hitting spectator with ball

Daniil Medvedev’s China Open campaign ended in extraordinary fashion on Monday when the Russian was disqualified from his semifinal against Novak Djokovic after hitting a rebounding ball into the crowd that struck a spectator in the eye.

Medvedev was trailing Djokovic 5-7, 3-5 when the incident occurred. After losing a point, he struck the ball as it came back off the wall, sending it into the stands behind him. The ball hit a spectator sitting in the first row in the eye. The fan immediately clutched his left eye and appeared to be in pain before being helped out of the gallery by stadium staff. The dramatic incident brought an abrupt end to a hard-fought semifinal, with Djokovic advancing to the China Open final. The Serbian was serving for the match when Medvedev was disqualified.

Djokovic, who himself was disqualified from the 2020 US Open after accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball, said he was shocked by what happened and expressed sympathy for both the spectator and Medvedev. "I was shocked, to be honest... I hope that person is not badly injured," Djokovic said. "On the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil because I know exactly how it feels to be disqualified in a big match ... I'm sure that Daniil didn't want to do this intentionally." The incident was particularly poignant for Djokovic because of the similarities with his own controversial US Open exit six years ago. He was defaulted from the 2020 tournament after hitting a line judge with a ball during his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta.

Djokovic's victory extended his perfect China Open record to 33-0 and sent him into his seventh final in Beijing.

The extraordinary finish followed another early end to a China Open men's semifinal earlier on Monday. Australia's Alex de Minaur advanced to the final after Hubert Hurkacz retired with an apparent adductor injury. De Minaur was leading 6-4, 3-2 when the Polish player, who had struggled with his movement during the match, stopped playing. De Minaur will face Djokovic in Tuesday's final. In the women's draw, six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek fought back from a set down to beat Donna Vekic 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2. She will next face Iva Jovic, who defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 7-5. Elina Svitolina also advanced with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Maria Sakkari, while Coco Gauff was facing 16-year-old Chinese wild card Sun Xinran.