Daniil Medvedev made a miserable exit from the China Open on Monday, losing his semi-final match to Novak Djokovic.
While Djokovic was serving to win the match at 7-5, 5-3, 15 full points, the Russian’s frustration mounted and when the ball bounced off the back wall, Medvedev shot it into the crowd, hitting a spectator in the front row.
The man bent over with his hands on his face for several minutes before he was taken from the stands for further treatment.
Referee Mohamed Liani consulted the tournament referee but had no choice but to disqualify the third seed.
Medvedev’s collapse means Djokovic extends his impressive record at the China Open
Djokovic appeared to be a little disappointed that the match was postponed in the way it was, as he appeared to be on his way to building on the big defeat he suffered on Sunday against French and US Open champion Alexander Zverev in Beijing.
24-time Grand Slam champion He is now playing his first ATP 500 match since his victory in Astana in 2022 and will face Alex de Minaur Tuesday.
The Australian was leading Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 3-2 when the Polish player was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Djokovic, who extended his unbeaten run at the China Open to 33 matches, has a 3-1 head-to-head record against de Minaur.
