Daniil Medvedev Disqualified As Djokovic Reaches China Open Final
Novak Djokovic advanced to his seventh China Open final after Daniil Medvedev was disqualified for accidentally hitting a spectator with a ball, with the Serb later saying he knew the feeling from his own US Open default in 2020.
Djokovic says 'it's horrible... but it happens' after Medvedev default in Beijing...
Novak Djokovic booked his place in a seventh China Open final on Monday after Daniil Medvedev was defaulted in the second set for hitting a spectator with a ball.
A man seated in the stands behind Medvedev's end of the court was seen clutching his face and was escorted from his seat after being struck, with Djokovic serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3.
World number 11 Djokovic will now face world number nine Alex de Minaur for the title in Beijing on Tuesday.
The Australian had reached the final after Hubert Hurkacz was forced to retire from their semi-final with an abductor strain, the 29-year-old Pole unable to continue.
Medvedev struck the ball with a backhand towards the edge of the stands after failing to return a point, prompting the chair umpire to halt play.
“Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all,” he told reporters afterwards, adding it was “100% an accident” and that he wanted to apologise to the fan 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,” he said.
It had been a physical encounter before Medvedev was disqualified.
Djokovic was red-faced and hunched over between points, with both players dragging each other through gruelling rallies, until the Serb seized control in the second set.
Despite the physical toll, the 39-year-old Djokovic produced a gutsy display, saving 16 break points across the match as he dived along the baseline and sprinted to the net.
“I didn't see what happened, to be honest,” he told the crowd after the fan was hit.
“I'm sure that Daniil didn't... do it intentionally. It happened by accident. Sorry for the crowd,” he said, adding that it had been a tough match.
“I know the feeling,” Djokovic told reporters afterwards, recalling his own disqualification from the 2020 US Open after accidentally hitting a ball at a line judge.
“It's horrible... but it happens,” he said.
One final battle in Beijing ⚔️🏆 @DjokerNole vs. @alexdeminaur @ChinaOpen | #ChinaOpen https://t.co/qRDkhhRV1G
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 5, 2026
Although Djokovic was just three points from victory, he said the win would not have come easily and admitted he got “lucky” in what was a “very exhausting” battle.
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