Daniil Medvedev has asked the ATP to help put him in touch with the man he accidentally struck in the face with a ball at the China Open. The Russian's semi-final against Novak Djokovic ended abruptly as he trailed 7-5, 5-3 to the legendary Serb.
With Djokovic a mere three points from victory, Medvedev was immediately defaulted for hitting the spectator in the front row in the eye. Speaking to reporters after being disqualified, Medvedev made it clear he would like the chance to apologise to the fan face-to-face.
Medvedev's apology and explanation
He said: "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."
"Yeah, I mean, 100 per cent 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."
Concern for the spectator
"So yeah, the most important, I hope that he's okay cause you never know with these types of situations."
"It was a 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."
Match context and final outlook
Medvedev's match against Djokovic was his first meeting with the 24-time Grand Slam champion since the 2023 US Open final. That was also the day the Serb, now 39, won his most recent major.
But the world No.6, who will lose all of his Beijing ranking points and prize money for being disqualified, believes his opponent has a great chance of lifting the title tomorrow. Djokovic faces Australian Alex de Minaur in the final.
Medvedev added: "Was a 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."
