Djokovic was red-faced and hunched over between points, with both players forcing each other through gruelling rallies, until the Serbian took control in the second set. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic hits a return to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev during their men’s singles semi-final at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on October 5, 2026. (Photo by Greg Baker / AFP)Novak Djokovic advanced to the China Open final on Monday after Daniil Medvedev was disqualified in the second set, when a ball that came off the Russian's racquet hit a spectator.A man sitting in the stands behind Medvedev's side of the court was seen holding his face and escorted out of his seat after being hit, as Djokovic was serving for the match with the score at 7-5, 5-3.Eleventh-ranked Djokovic will play world number nine Alex de Minaur for the title on Tuesday in Beijing.The Australian had advanced over Hubert Hurkacz after the 29-year-old from Poland retired from their semi-final with an abductor strain.Medvedev hit the ball with a backhand at the edge of the stands when he failed to return a point, with the chair umpire stopping play."Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all," he told reporters afterwards, adding it was "100 percent an accident" and that he wished to apologise to the fan in person.It had been a physical battle before Medvedev's disqualification.A valiant Djokovic, 39, put on a dazzlin...
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