Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic \u2060after hitting a rebounding ball into the crowd that struck an unwitting \u200bspectator in the eye.<\/p>\n
The Russian world \u200cNo 5 Medvedev was \u200ctrailing 7-5, 5-3 on Monday and had lost a point \u200cwhen 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 \u200cstaff.<\/p>\n
\u201cTerribly sorry to the spectator, first of all,\u201d Mededev said, adding it was \u201c100% an accident\u201d and that he wished to apologise in person. \u201cThe ball was bouncing back, so I tried to, like, just hit it anywhere, so it doesn\u2019t go out from the court. When I saw the result, I mean, I felt horrible because, again, I don\u2019t think I was ever close to such a situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniil Medvedev is disqualified from the match. Photograph: Jessica Lee\/EPA<\/p>\n
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\u2019s temper has failed. In May, at the Monte Carlo Open, he smashed his racket several times<\/a> and placed the remnants in a courtside dustbin when being \u201cbagelled\u201d 6-0, 6-0 by Matteo Berrettini.<\/p>\n At 2025\u2019s US Open, he received a $42,500 fine<\/a> after losing his temper when a photographer interrupted Benjamin Bonzi\u2019s 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: \u201cWhat I say and what I do, in my head, I want to do worse, and I cannot because there are rules, because we\u2019re on a tennis court.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniil Medvedev speaks to the media after being disqualified. Photograph: Andy Wong\/AP<\/p>\n At the 2025 Australian Open, he was fined fined \u00a354,000<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI was shocked, to be honest \u2026 I hope that person is not badly injured,\u201d added the sixth seed \u200bDjokovic, who was disqualified from the US Open in 2020<\/a> under similar circumstances, with whom Medvedev has fought many a stormy match. \u201cOn the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil because I know exactly how it feels to \u2060be disqualified in a big match \u2026 I\u2019m sure that \u200bDaniil didn\u2019t \u200bwant to do this intentionally.\u201d<\/p>\n Both \u200bsemi-finals ended prematurely in Beijing as Hubert \u200bHurkacz retired with \u200can adductor \u200binjury earlier \u200bon Monday. Australia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Quick GuideHow do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?Show<\/p>\n In the Guardian app, tap the Profile settings button at the top right, then select Notifications. Turn on sport notifications.<\/p>\n If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you\u2019re on the most recent version.<\/p>\n If you don’t have the Guardian app, download it from the\u00a0iOS App Store<\/a>\u00a0on iPhone or the\u00a0Google Play store<\/a>\u00a0on Android by searching for ‘The Guardian’.<\/p>\n Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame early wobbles on his serve to outclass \u2060fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 and reach the Japan Open final, taking a step \u2060towards his first singles \u2060title after \u200bhis comeback from a wrist injury. He will face Jiri Lehecka in Tuesday\u2019s final.<\/p>\n