Medvedev defaulted after hitting spectator in Djokovic semi-final

Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from the China Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic after hitting a spectator in the face with a ball.

Medvedev was trailing 7-5 5-3 in Beijing when play was stopped. A default, the term for a disqualification, hands the match to the other player. Djokovic goes through to the final BBC Sport.

The incident came with Djokovic serving at 15-15 in the ninth game of the second set. Djokovic had just hit a winner beyond Medvedev to level the game. The ball came back off the rear of the court and Medvedev swiped at it in annoyance, sending it into the stand behind him.

It struck a spectator sitting in the front row. The man doubled over holding his face and was helped out of the arena while still holding his eye.

Umpire Mohamed Lahyani and an ATP official spoke to Medvedev on court. A short discussion followed. Medvedev then shook hands with Djokovic at the net. That ended the match.

Djokovic said he hoped the spectator was not badly injured. He added that he did not believe Medvedev had hit the ball intentionally.

There was a familiar echo for Djokovic. He was defaulted from the 2020 US Open after striking a line judge with a ball in a similar incident.

The semi-final had been set up by contrasting quarter-final wins. Djokovic rallied past Alexander Zverev to reach the last four, while Medvedev beat Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(4) 6-3 Reuters.

Djokovic is a six-time China Open champion. He returned to the tournament in 2026 after an 11-year absence, with 24 Grand Slam titles to his name.

What makes this stand out is the speed of the turn. One loose swipe, one unlucky ricochet, and a semi-final built over two sets was gone. For fans, the score will read as a straight-sets win. The story was the final point that was never played.