Medvedev disqualified from China Open semifinal after hitting ball and injuring member of the crowd

Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Russian Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semifinal clash with Novak Djokovic after hitting a rebounding ball into the crowd, striking a spectator in the eye.

World number five Medvedev was trailing 7-5, 5-3 on Monday and had lost a point when he hit the ball coming off the wall.

The spectator, who was sitting in the first row, clutched his left eye and appeared to be in pain as he walked out of the gallery, assisted by stadium staff.

“I was shocked, to be honest… I hope that person is not badly injured,” said sixth seed Djokovic, who was disqualified from the US Open in 2020 under similar circumstances.

“On the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil because I know exactly how it feels to be disqualified in a big match … I’m sure that Daniil didn’t want to do this intentionally.”

Both semifinals ended prematurely in Beijing as Hubert Hurkacz retired with an adductor injury earlier on Monday.

Australian Alex de Minaur was leading the first semifinal 6-4, 3-2 when his Polish opponent, who had struggled with movement throughout the match, retired.

马克西姆·舍梅托夫/路透社

俄罗斯选手丹尼尔·梅德韦杰夫在中国网球公开赛半决赛对阵诺瓦克·德约科维奇的比赛中，因将反弹球击入观众席，击中一名观众的眼睛而被取消比赛资格。

世界排名第五的梅德韦杰夫周一以 7-5、5-3 落后，在击球时球从墙上反弹回来，丢掉了一分。

这位坐在第一排的观众捂着左眼，看起来很痛苦，在体育场工作人员的搀扶下走出了看台。

“说实话，我感到很震惊……我希望那个人没有受重伤，”六号种子德约科维奇说道。他曾在2020年因类似情况被取消美国网球公开赛的参赛资格。

“另一方面，我也很同情丹尼尔，因为我非常清楚在大赛中被取消资格是什么感觉……我相信丹尼尔绝对不是故意的。”

周一早些时候，胡伯特·胡尔卡奇因内收肌受伤退赛，北京的两场半决赛都提前结束。

澳大利亚选手亚历克斯·德米纳尔在第一场半决赛中以 6-4、3-2 领先，但他的波兰对手在整场比赛中都难以移动，最终退赛。