Daniil Medvedev has apologized to fans after being disqualified from the China Open for copying Novak Djokovic.
Daniil Medvedev’s disqualification from the China Open was the big talking point on Monday afternoon, and Novak Djokovic shared his thoughts on it.
The Serbian was leading 7-5, 5-3, and serving for the match in Beijing when Medvedev made a sudden mistake after two hours of hard fighting.
Medvedev accidentally hit a ball into the front row, striking a fan. Because of this, umpire Mohamed Lahyani had no choice but to disqualify him from the semi-final.
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Medvedev will lose his $219,295 prize money and 200 ranking points from the China Open. Djokovic knows what that feels like, as he was defaulted from the 2020 US Open after hitting a line judge with a ball. He showed sympathy for both the fan and Medvedev.
“It’s a shock, honestly. I hope the fan isn’t badly hurt,” Djokovic said. “I also feel sorry for Daniil. I know how tough it is to be disqualified in a big match. I’m sure he didn’t mean to do it.”
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam winner, has been playing great, becoming the oldest man in ATP 500 history to reach the final of an event like this. He will face world No. 5 Alex De Minaur in Tuesday’s final.
Winning against the Australian would be a perfect way for Djokovic to prove himself, especially after a tough couple of months. He was upset at the US Open by Mariano Navone and lost early at the Cincinnati Masters and Wimbledon.
While Djokovic was happy to reach the final, it was a sad moment for Medvedev, who apologized to the fan. “I’m very sorry to the spectator. I’m trying to get in touch with him and hope to apologize in person,” Medvedev told reporters in Beijing.
He made clear that he didn’t hit the ball on purpose and that it was “100% an accident.” Unfortunately, the rules say a player must be disqualified if they hit a ball that touches a spectator, official, or staff member, even by accident.
“You can see I didn’t hit the ball in anger,” Medvedev said. “I usually don’t do things like this. The ball bounced back, so I tried to hit it away so it wouldn’t go out of the court. When I saw the ball hit the spectator, I felt terrible. I hope he’s okay because you never know in situations like this.”
Before this, the 30-year-old Russian was having a great run in Asia, with a seven-match winning streak after winning his 24th ATP title at the Hangzhou Open last week.