Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semifinal match on Monday, Sept. 5 after he hit a ball into the stands and accidentally struck a fan in the face, allowing opponent Novak Djokovic to automatically advance to the final.
Djokovic led 7-5, 5-3 and was three points away from victory when Medvedev hit a ball into the stands behind the baseline in apparent frustration. A man seated in the first row was helped out of the stadium while holding his eye.
Medvedev was removed from the match a few minutes later and did not argue the chair umpire's decision.
After the match, Medvedev told reporters in the mixed zone that the incident was "100% an accident" and said he was attempting to get in touch with the spectator to apologize.
"Hopefully,
I can apologize in person and see how he feels," Medvedev said. "You can see that I didn't hit the ball in anger. And, actually, I do a lot of bad things but usually, ball abuse is not my thing. The ball was bouncing back so I tried to just hit it anywhere so it doesn't go out from the court. When I saw the result, I felt horrible."
Medvedev disqualification: ATP code of conduct rules
In tennis, a default occurs when a player is removed from a match or tournament for violating the tour's code of conduct with on-court or off-court actions. On-court violations include unsportsmanlike conduct, obscene gestures, swearing and ball or racquet abuse. A player is automatically defaulted when they commit a third violation during a match, but the chair umpire can also issue an immediate default from a single serious violation, as was the case in Medvedev's situation.
The ATP Rulebook states, "Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball while on the grounds of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including warm-up). For purposes of this rule, abuse of balls is defined as intentionally or recklessly hitting a ball out of the enclosure of the court, hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with disregard of the consequences."
Defaults from single acts are rare, though Djokovic was disqualified for a similar incident at the 2020 US Open, when he smacked a ball out of anger and hit a line judge in the throat. Djokovic, the world's top-ranked men's player at the time, was ejected from the tournament.
Under ATP rules, Monday's match will be entered as a loss in Medvedev's record, and he will also forfeit all prize money and ranking points earned during his run to the China Open semifinals.
As a result of Medvedev's default, Djokovic improved his undefeated record at the China Open to 33-0. Djokovic, currently ranked No. 11 among men's singles players, will play ninth-ranked Alex de Minaur in the final on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
At the Monte Carlo Masters in April, Medvedev smashed his racquet during his second-round loss to Matteo Berrettini and received a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct, but was not ejected.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Medvedev DQ'd from China Open for hitting ball into fan's face
