Medvedev disqualified from China Open after ball strikes spectator
publishers 19articles 21first reported 5 Oct, 15:45 UTCdeveloping since 5 Oct · 10 editions
Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semifinal against Novak Djokovic on Monday after a ball he struck into the stands hit a spectator in the face.
Djokovic was leading 7-5, 5-3 and serving for the match when his forehand volley ended a point. The ball rebounded from the back of the court toward Medvedev, who hit it with a backhand into the front row. The spectator clutched his left eye and was escorted from the arena by stadium staff.
After consulting a tournament official, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani disqualified Medvedev. The Russian did not appear to contest the decision and shook hands with Djokovic at the net.
“Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all,” Medvedev said afterward. He described the incident as “100 per cent an accident” and said he hoped to contact the spectator and apologize in person. “When I saw the result, I felt horrible,” he said.
Djokovic said he hoped the spectator was not badly injured and expressed sympathy for Medvedev, saying he was sure the shot was not intentional. Djokovic was himself disqualified from the 2020 US Open after a ball he struck hit a line judge.
The result sent Djokovic into Tuesday’s final against Alex de Minaur. The Australian advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired from their semifinal with an apparent adductor injury while trailing 6-4, 3-2.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 6 articles, 5 with the publisher's own text; 5 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 24 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 19
- Source articles
- 21
- Given to the writer
- 6, 5 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 5
- This version written
- 24 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
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