The six-time Beijing champion was serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3, 15-15 when a ball bounced off the back wall. Medvedev hit it on instinct and the ball struck a fan in the front row. The spectator left the court holding his left eye. Medvedev was defaulted after consultation with the chair umpire and supervisor.
“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.” He added that he felt for Medvedev, having been defaulted himself at the 2020 US Open. “I’m sure that Daniil didn’t want to do this intentionally.”
The match had already lasted two hours and 29 minutes. Medvedev, Hangzhou champion a week earlier and chasing an eighth straight tour-level win, had Djokovic a break down in the first set. Djokovic recovered, then broke twice in the second to reach the brink of victory. “I was three points away from the win,” he said. “It was a gruelling battle and I definitely didn’t want a third set. I don’t know how many break points I saved, it was crazy. It’s always a big battle with Daniil.”
Djokovic is 33-0 in Beijing and into his first ATP 500 final since he won Astana in 2022. He faces fifth seed Alex de Minaur on Tuesday. The Serb leads their head-to-head 3-1. De Minaur advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired with an adductor injury.
Medvedev called the strike a “100% accident” and said he was trying to apologise to the spectator in person. For Djokovic, a default he did not ask for still puts a sixth China Open title within reach.