Stunning disqualification sets up huge Demon-Djokovic final
Daniil Medvedev struck a spectator with a ball and was disqualified from his semi final against Novak Djokovic at the China Open on Monday night.
It means Australia’s Alex de Minaur will take on Djokovic in the tournament final, after his opponent Hubert Hurkacz retired from their semi final.
Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semi final. Getty Images
De Minaur and Djokovic will face off for the title on Tuesday night (AEDT).
The spectator Medvedev hit was helped out of the arena holding a hand over his left eye.
“I feel terribly sorry for him actually and I just hope he’s OK,” Medvedev said.
“Hopefully I can meet him and make up for it somehow.”
Djokovic was serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3 when Medvedev hit the ball into the stands in apparent frustration.
After a forehand volley winner from Djokovic, the ball bounced off the advertising boards and back toward Medvedev, who smacked a backhand that sailed into the front row.
“It was 100 per cent an accident,” Medvedev said.
“You can see that I didn’t hit the ball in anger… The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to just hit it anywhere, so it wouldn’t go out of the court.”
Immediately after striking the spectator, Medvedev appeared to wave his left hand in apology. He remained on the court.
“When I saw the result, I felt horrible,” Medvedev said.
“The most important thing is I hope that he’s OK because you never know with these types of situations.”
Daniil Medvedev speaks to the media after being disqualified. AP Photo/Andy Wong
The chair umpire and tournament supervisor came down onto the court to talk with Medvedev, who didn’t appear to put up much of an argument with the disqualification.
Medvedev then walked to the net and shook hands with Djokovic.
The incident was reminiscent of when Djokovic was kicked out of the 2020 US Open for hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. That was also accidental.
“A bit of a shock, to be honest,” Djokovic said.
“I honestly didn’t see what happened. I hope that person is not badly injured. On the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil, because I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match. ... I am sure that Daniil didn’t want to do this intentionally. It just happens.”
Djokovic extended his perfect career record at the China Open to 33-0.
With his ranking down to No.11, this is the first time in eight years that Djokovic is playing a tournament without being in the top 10. It’s also his first tournament since a first-round exit from the US Open.
The 39-year-old Serb rallied to beat top-seeded Alexander Zverev in the quarter finals on Sunday.
De Minaur led 6-4, 3-2 when Hurkacz — who was barely able to run for balls in the second set — stopped playing. The nature of Hurkacz’s injury was not immediately clear.
The Aussie is ranked No.9 in the world currently.
