Alex de Minaur will play Novak Djokovic for the China Open title in Beijing after Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his semi-final for hitting a spectator with a ball.
The final is set for Tuesday 6 October, not before 7pm local time (10pm AEDT), according to the ATP order of play.
How Medvedev was defaulted
Djokovic led 7-5, 5-3 and was serving at 15-15 when a ball bounced off the back wall and Medvedev hit it into the crowd, where it struck a fan, the ATP reported.
ABC News reported the spectator suffered an eye injury, while Sky Sports said the fan was hit around the left eye. Sky Sports also reported Medvedev will lose all points and prize money from the event.
The 30-year-old Russian said it was an accident.
“It was 100 per cent an accident,” Medvedev said, as quoted by the ATP. “You can see that I didn’t hit the ball in anger… The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to just hit it anywhere, so it wouldn’t go out of the court.”
“I feel terribly sorry for him actually and I just hope he’s okay,” he added. “That’s the most important.”
Djokovic: ‘A bit of a shock’
Djokovic, who was defaulted from the 2020 US Open in similar circumstances, felt for both the fan and his opponent.
“A bit of a shock, to be honest,” Djokovic said. “Sorry for the person [who got hit]. I honestly didn’t see what happened. I hope that person is not badly injured. On the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil, because I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match.”
The 39-year-old saved 16 of the 18 break points he faced in the semi-final, BBC Sport reported. The six-time champion is now 33-0 at the China Open and one win from his 102nd tour-level title.
De Minaur’s path to the final
De Minaur, the fifth seed, reached his 10th ATP 500 final when Hubert Hurkacz retired with an adductor injury with the Australian leading 6-4, 3-2. That came after he fought back from a set down to beat Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.
What’s at stake
Djokovic leads their head-to-head 3-1. ABC News noted de Minaur would become the first player to beat Djokovic in 34 matches at the China Open, and that the winner will leave Beijing ninth in the race for November’s eight-man ATP Finals.
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