Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic after hitting a rebounding ball into the crowd that struck an unwitting spectator in the eye.
The Russian world No 5 Medvedev was trailing 7-5, 5-3 on Monday and had lost a point when he frustratedly struck a ball that had coming off a back wall. The spectator, sitting in the first row, clutched his left eye and appeared in pain as he left the gallery, assisted by stadium staff.
“Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all,” Mededev said, adding it was “100% an accident” and that he wished to apologise in person. “The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to, like, just hit it anywhere, so it doesn’t go out from the court. When I saw the result, I mean, I felt horrible because, again, I don’t think I was ever close to such a situation.”
The incident added further to a fiery reputation for the 2021 US Open champion, three times a losing finalist at the Australian Open, born of a series of incidents where Medvedev’s temper has failed. In May, at the Monte Carlo Open, he smashed his racket several times and placed the remnants in a courtside dustbin when being “bagelled” 6-0, 6-0 by Matteo Berrettini.
At 2025’s US Open, he received a $42,500 fine after losing his temper when a photographer interrupted Benjamin Bonzi’s serve for match point. Play was held up for more than six minutes as Medvedev riled up the crowd and insulted the umpire. Afterwards, he told reporters: “What I say and what I do, in my head, I want to do worse, and I cannot because there are rules, because we’re on a tennis court.”
At the 2025 Australian Open, he was fined fined £54,000, one of biggest totals in grand slam history breaking a net camera by repeatedly smashing it with his racket. He also had to pay for the camera.
“I was shocked, to be honest … I hope that person is not badly injured,” added the sixth seed Djokovic, who was disqualified from the US Open in 2020 under similar circumstances, with whom Medvedev has fought many a stormy match. “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.”
Both semi-finals ended prematurely in Beijing as Hubert Hurkacz retired with an adductor injury earlier on Monday. Australia’s Alex de Minaur was leading the first semi 6-4, 3-2 when his Polish opponent, who had struggled with movement throughout the match, retired.
Quick GuideHow do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?
Show
In the Guardian app, tap the Profile settings button at the top right, then select Notifications. Turn on sport notifications.
If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
If you don’t have the Guardian app, download it from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for ‘The Guardian’.
Elsewhere, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame early wobbles on his serve to outclass fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 and reach the Japan Open final, taking a step towards his first singles title after his comeback from a wrist injury. He will face Jiri Lehecka in Tuesday’s final.
The 23-year-old, who moved through the gears during Team Europe’s triumphant Laver Cup campaign last month, looked comfortable against qualifier Munar in Tokyo at 5-4 before gifting him the opening set with two shaky service games.
“I don’t know what happened in the first set,” said top seed Alcaraz, who dropped 16 consecutive points at the end of it. “I started the match well, got a break and was serving for the set, but I don’t know what happened. It seems like I’m struggling every first set. But the way that I come back every time, I think I’m just really happy about it. Jaume’s a pretty tough player and these conditions suit him pretty well. I just tried to stay there as much as I could.”
