Medvedev disqualified from China Open semi after hitting spectator with ball

Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic in Beijing on Monday after a rebounding ball he struck hit a spectator in the eye. World No 5 Medvedev was trailing 7-5, 5-3 when the incident occurred.

Medvedev had lost a point when he hit the ball coming off the wall and the struck spectator, who was sitting in the first row, clutched his left eye and appeared to be in pain as he walked out of the gallery, assisted by stadium staff. “Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all,” he told reporters afterwards, adding it was “100% an accident” and that he wished to apologise to the fan in person.

“I was shocked, to be honest … I hope that person is not badly injured,” added the sixth seed Djokovic, who was disqualified from the US Open in 2020 under similar circumstances. “On the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil because I know exactly how it feels to ⁠be disqualified in a big match … I’m sure that ​Daniil didn’t ​want to do this intentionally.”

Both China Open semi-finals ended prematurely on Monday as Hubert Hurkacz retired with an adductor injury earlier in the day. Australia’s 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.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame early wobbles on his serve to outclass fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 and reach the Japan Open final, taking a step towards his first singles title after his comeback from a wrist injury. The 23-year-old, who moved through the gears during Team Europe’s triumphant Laver Cup campaign last month, looked comfortable against qualifier Munar in Tokyo at 5-4 before gifting him the opening set with two shaky service games.

“I don’t know what happened in the first set,” said top seed Alcaraz, who dropped 16 consecutive points at the end of it. “I started the match well, got a break and was serving for the set, but I don’t ‌know what happened. It seems like I’m struggling every first set. But the way that I come back every time, I think ​I’m just really happy about it. Jaume’s a pretty tough player and these conditions suit him pretty well. I just tried to stay there as much as I could.”

Novak Djokovic will now face Alex de Minaur in the China Open final, and Carlos Alcaraz is set to meet Jiri Lehecka in Tuesday’s Japan Open final.