Daniil Medvedev disqualified as Djokovic reaches Beijing final

Daniil Medvedev’s run at the Beijing ATP 500 tournament ended in disqualification, handing Novak Djokovic a place in the final after an incident late in their semi-final. The Russian sent a ball towards the spectators in frustration after losing a point, but it struck a man in the left eye. The spectator stayed seated for an extended period before being taken away. The umpire and supervisor then spoke with Medvedev, who was disqualified over the incident.

The match stopped with Djokovic leading 7-5, 5-3, 15-15 and serving for victory. Medvedev, the world No. 11, had been involved in a tight contest before the decisive moment. He broke first in the opening set, but Djokovic immediately responded and later secured the set with a return game at 6-5. In the second, Djokovic broke at 3-2, Medvedev levelled soon afterwards, and the Serbian broke again before the match ended.

Medvedev had also called for treatment on his right shoulder during the second set, although it had not appeared to restrict him earlier. Djokovic now leads their head-to-head record 11-5 after 16 meetings. The Serbian will play his 146th career final on Tuesday and remains unbeaten in Beijing, with 33 victories in the tournament since 2009.

His opponent will be Alex de Minaur, who advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired with the Australian leading 6-4, 3-2. Hurkacz, ranked 34th, had reached the final in Chengdu the previous week. De Minaur, the world No. 9, will contest his 22nd final and has won one of his four previous meetings with Djokovic.