EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsBEIJING -- Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his semifinal against Novak Djokovic at the China Open after he hit a ball into the stands that struck a spectator in the front row on Monday.The spectator was helped out of the arena holding a hand over his left eye.Djokovic was serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3 when Medvedev hit the ball into the stands in apparent frustration.The incident was reminiscent of when Djokovic was disqualified from the 2020 US Open for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball.It was the first meeting between the 39-year-old Djokovic and Medvedev since Djokovic beat the Russian in the 2023 US Open final.Djokovic extended his perfect career record at the China Open to 33-0.In Tuesday's final, Djokovic will face ninth-ranked Alex de Minaur, who advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired due to an apparent injury midway through the second set of their semifinal.De Minaur led 6-4, 3-2 when Hurkacz -- who was barely able to run for balls in the second set -- stopped playing.The nature of Hurkacz's injury was not immediately clear.Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
