Djokovic reaches China Open final after Medvedev is disqualified

Novak Djokovic reached the China Open final after Daniil Medvedev was disqualified late in their semi-final, when a ball he hit went into the stands and struck a spectator.

The Serb was serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3 when the incident happened. A man sitting behind Medvedev’s side of the court was seen holding his face and was helped from his seat, Dawn reported, citing AFP.

Djokovic, now ranked 11th, will play world number nine Alex de Minaur for the title on Tuesday in Beijing.

How it happened

Medvedev failed to return a point, and the ball bounced back off the rear wall. The Russian then hit it with a backhand up into the stands, and the chair umpire stopped play.

“Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all,” Medvedev told reporters, calling it “100 percent an accident” and saying 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.

“I know the feeling”

Djokovic said he did not see the incident. “I’m sure that Daniil didn’t… do it intentionally. It happened by accident,” he told the crowd.

He knows the situation well. “I know the feeling,” he said later, recalling his own disqualification from the 2020 US Open after he accidentally hit a line judge with a ball.

A gruelling battle

Before the dramatic ending, the match had been a physical fight. Djokovic looked red-faced and was hunched over between points as both men traded long rallies. The 39-year-old took control in the second set, diving at the baseline and sprinting to the net, and saved 16 break points in the match.

Djokovic said he got “lucky” in a “very exhausting” contest, and that victory would not have come easily even three points from the finish. He had reached the semi-finals by knocking out top seed Alexander Zverev, extending his unbeaten run in Beijing.

De Minaur waits

De Minaur reached the final when Hubert Hurkacz of Poland retired from their semi-final with an adductor muscle strain.

In the women’s draw

• Coco Gauff: the third seed beat Chinese teenager Sun Xinran 7-5, 6-1 and next plays Belgium’s Elise Mertens
• Iga Swiatek: came back to beat Donna Vekic 4-6, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2 and faces American teenager Iva Jovic
• Zheng Qinwen: survived a third straight three-setter, beating Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-5, and next meets Alina Charaeva, who knocked out top seed Elena Rybakina
• Others: Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova plays Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Elina Svitolina faces Ann Li

“I gave everything,” said Zheng, who had already spent more than five hours on court in her first two matches.

Why it matters

Djokovic, at 39, is one win from another title and continues to defy age on the tour. Medvedev’s exit is a reminder of how strictly tennis treats any ball hit at spectators or officials, even by accident. Read our earlier report on Djokovic’s win over Zverev and Alcaraz’s run in Tokyo.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and AFP.