Novak Djokovic on Monday sympathised with Daniil Medvedev after the Russian was disqualified from his China Open semifinal match. Medvedev had hit the ball into the stands, where it struck a spectator in the face.
The incident happened in the second set, when Djokovic was serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3. After failing to return a point, Medvedev struck the ball with a backhand towards the stands. The spectator, who was sitting behind Medvedev, was seen holding his face and was immediately escorted out for medical attention.
The umpire stopped the match and came down onto the court to speak to Medvedev. The Russian did not appear to argue against the disqualification. He then walked over to the net, shook hands with Djokovic and left the court.
The Serb, who advanced to the final, where he will face world No. 9 Alex de Minaur for the title on Tuesday in Beijing, defended Medvedev after the match. The incident reminded him of the infamous 2020 US Open episode, when Djokovic was disqualified after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. Both incidents were accidental.
“A bit of a shock, to be honest. Sorry for the person. I honestly didn’t see what happened. I hope the person is not badly injured. On the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil. I know exactly how it feels to be disqualified,” he said.
“In a big match, I was disqualified back in 2020 at the US Open for similar circumstances. I’m sure that Daniil did not want to do this intentionally. It just happens. I was three points away from the win. It was a gruelling battle. I definitely didn’t want to take this battle to a third set.
“It was looking like that. I saved I don’t know how many break points. It was crazy. I don’t know. It always is a big battle with Daniil. It’s so hard to play him when he’s feeling the ball well in slower conditions and has a big serve. But yeah, we move on.”
Djokovic will be aiming for his seventh China Open title on Tuesday, having extended his perfect record in Beijing to 33-0.