Daniil Medvedev speaks out after China Open disqualification against Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev has apologised after he was disqualified in his match against Novak Djokovic at the 2026 China Open as he labelled the incident a “100% accident.”
The 2021 US Open winner was trailing 5-7, 3-5, 15-15 against Djokovic in the semi-finals in Beijing when he was defaulted for hitting a ball which struck a spectator — who was sitting in the front row — in the face.
After Medvedev spoke with the chair umpire and tournament supervisor, it became clear that the Russian had been disqualified, and he walked to the net to shake hands with Djokovic.
Not the ending we expected 😮
@DjokerNole advances to the Beijing final after Medvedev is defaulted whilst down 5-7 3-5
#ChinaOpen https://t.co/Pae5eNrJ6W
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 5, 2026
The high-quality and gruelling contest had lasted two hours and 24 minutes before arriving at its unfortunate conclusion.
Here is everything Medvedev said in a post-match discussion with journalists at the ATP 500 event in the Chinese capital.
Q. Just a comment. How do you feel about what happened tonight?
MEDVEDEV: Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all. I’m trying to get in touch with him, if he wants it. Hopefully I can apologise in person and see how he feels.
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Q. In terms of just how Novak played tonight and the match itself, can you talk through what surprised you from him and what do you think was the difference?
MEDVEDEV: Was tough match for me. He played really well. I felt like he played like when we played the best matches. I had some opportunities, which I missed. Yeah, he played incredible. So I think he has big chances in the final.
Q. You just commented on what happened, but I want to confirm if it indeed was an accident?
MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I mean, 100% accident. You can see that I didn’t hit the ball in anger. Actually I do a lot of bad things, but usually ball abuse is not my thing. The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to, like, just hit it anywhere, so it doesn’t go out from the court. When I saw the result, I mean, I felt horrible because, again, I don’t think I was ever close to such situation. So yeah, the most important, I hope that he’s okay ’cause you never know with these types of situations.
Q. Not much more you can really say, is there? When it actually happened, in that second, what flashed through your mind?
MEDVEDEV: No, it was horrible feeling because, again, that’s not what I usually do. I didn’t want to hit… I mean, you can see that there is zero anger in this moment. It’s not especially frustration. I don’t hit it hard. Yeah, it hit him. I feel terribly sorry for him actually because, again, I just hope he’s okay. That’s the most important. The rest we move on. I just really care about him right now. Hopefully I can meet him and make up for it somehow.”
