Djokovic is out—and that's fine

Medvedev hits a spectator—disqualified!

Novak Djokovic (small photo) could barely stay on his feet at one point, but still pushed Daniil Medvedev to the brink of defeat—which Medvedev then sealed for himself.(Bild: AP)

A crazy ending to a crazy match! Although he was already up against the wall, Daniil Medvedev truly lost his semifinal in Beijing against Novak Djokovic because, after losing a point, he struck a spectator, who was then carried out of the arena injured.

Things had already gotten very heated. Even in the first set, Djokovic had repeatedly struggled with his stamina, but he took the first set in spectacular fashion, 7–5. His stamina didn’t improve. Time and again, Djokovic nearly collapsed, leaning on his racket, panting, slumping onto his bench, and having real trouble lifting his arms.

Dying Swan
This, in turn, infuriated Medvedev, who mimicked Djokovic because he didn’t buy his “dying swan” act.

Spectator Injured
But Djokovic didn’t let it throw him off his game. In the second set, too, he initially broke Medvedev’s serve, then conceded the break back, and went on to break Medvedev’s serve again to take a 5–3 lead. And then, at 15–15, came the fateful moment. Djokovic won the point, and Medvedev vented his frustration by hitting the ball over the net. Not with full force, but hard enough to seriously injure a spectator sitting in the front row. The spectator held his forehead for several minutes and eventually had to be helped out of the arena.

The inevitable happened. With the score at 5-7, 3-5, Medvedev was disqualified.

Here are the match stats:

And Novak Djokovic, though apparently on the ropes, knocked out another heavyweight—Daniil Medvedev, following Alexander Zverev—and is now in the final.

Just like Djokovic in 2020
This likely brought back memories for Djokovic. He himself had been disqualified at the 2020 US Open after accidentally hitting a line judge. A certain Dominic Thiem indirectly benefited from that incident, as he went on to win the tournament. Back then, Djokovic had at least apologized repeatedly and sincerely after the incident. Medvedev did not do the same today—at least not while the TV cameras were rolling.