There was plenty of anticipation for Daniil Medvedev’s match against Novak Djokovic at the Beijing Open on Monday. The two highly ranked players were supposed to engage in one of the most exciting matches at the event, much to the delight of viewers.
But that match ended earlier than expected after Medvedev, in what appeared to be a fit of frustration, swatted a ball into the stands. The ball wound up hitting a fan in the face, resulting in Medvedev being disqualified.
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Play was stopped after Medvedev hit the ball into the stands, with the officials trying to figure out what happened. While the announcers were initially unsure exactly what occurred, they noticed a fan with their head down in the front row.
Upon watching the replay, the announcers speculated on whether Medvedev was trying to stop the ball going into the crowd on the side of the court or hitting the ball in anger.
Regardless of Medvedev’s intentions, he was disqualified from the contest.
Djokovic was leading 7-5, 5-3 at the time of the disqualification. With the win, Djokovic advanced to the final at the event, where he’ll face Alex de Minaur on Tuesday.
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The disqualification comes at a miserable time for Medvedev, who entered Monday on a seven-match winning streak. As a result of the disqualification, Medvedev will forfeit the points he earned at the Beijing Open and his prize money.
The victory makes Djokovic 33-0 at the Beijing Open over his career. While Medvedev was a tough opponent, that streak wasn’t in much danger, as Djokovic was serving for the match at the time Medvedev was disqualified. Beijing Open matches use a best-of-three format.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
