Daniil Medvedev‘s China Open campaign came to a bizarre and abrupt end on Monday after the former world No. 1 was disqualified from his semifinal against Novak Djokovic for hitting a spectator with a ball.
Djokovic was leading 7-5, 5-3 and serving at 15-15 when the incident occurred. After losing the point, Medvedev reacted in frustration as a ball rebounded off the back wall. He swiped at it slightly with his backhand, sending it into the stands behind him.
The ball struck a spectator in the first row in the eye. The fan immediately covered his face and was subsequently helped from the arena by stadium staff.
What’s your view on this? Medvedev defaulted vs Djokovic https://t.co/P86JnxWC7b
— Tennisnerd (@Tennisnerdnet) October 5, 2026
Following a discussion between Medvedev, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani and an ATP official, the decision was made to default the Russian, bringing the semifinal to an extraordinary conclusion. Djokovic therefore advanced to the China Open final with a 7-5, 5-3 scoreline.
The incident immediately brought back memories of Djokovic’s own controversial disqualification at the 2020 US Open. The Serbian was defaulted from his fourth-round match after accidentally striking a line judge in the throat with a ball.
Djokovic expressed sympathy for both the spectator and Medvedev after the incident.
“It’s a bit of a shock, to be honest. I hope that person is not badly injured,” Djokovic said. “I also feel sorry for Daniil. I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match.”
Loses all ranking points and prize money
Djokovic will now face Alex de Minaur in the China Open final. The Australian reached the championship match after Hubert Hurkacz retired while trailing 6-4, 3-2 in their semifinal with an injury.
For Medvedev, this also means that he loses all his points and prize-money from this week. This will have big effects on the top rankings and not at least in the Race for Turin where both of the finalists (De Minaur and Djokovic) are just behind Medvedev in the ranks.
