Daniil Medvedev’s China Open semifinal against Novak Djokovic came to an unexpected and early end after he hit a fan in the face with a ball and was disqualified on Monday.
The fifth-ranked Russian lost a point and was behind 7-5, 5-3, when he hit a tennis ball that had bounced off the rear wall out of frustration. The first-row spectator appeared to be in pain clutching his left eye as he left the gallery with the help of stadium personnel. Sky Sports reports that the fan was taken to a local hospital.
Medvedev was disqualified from the match following a conversation with umpire Mohamed Lahyani and a tournament official. He did not object to the umpire’s decision to disqualify him. Medvedev will lose all points and prize money earned from the event.
Daniil Medvedev speaks out after hitting fan in the face with a ball
“Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all. I’m trying to get in touch with him, if he wants it,” Daniil Medvedev told the media after the match. “Hopefully I can apologize in person. I just hope he’s okay. That’s the most important. I just really care about him right now.
“It was 100 percent accident. You can see I didn’t hit the ball in anger. I do a lot of bad things, but usually ball abuse is not my thing.
“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 felt horrible because, again, I don’t think I was ever close to such a situation. Hopefully I can meet him and make up for it somehow.”
Medvedev’s opponent Novak Djokovic shared what he saw
“I’m a bit shocked. Sorry for the person. I hope he is not injured. I feel sorry for Daniil as well because I know exactly what it feels to be DQ in a match for this,” Novak Djokovic said.
During his fourth-round encounter against Pablo Carreno Busta at the 2020 U.S. Open, Djokovic hit a line judge in the throat with a ball. Djokovic was defaulted in spite of his objections.
After the disqualification, the line judge struck by Novak Djokovic received hundreds of messages on social media from fans, including death threats, blaming her for their favorite player being disqualified.