There was an unsavoury end to an epic match today, as Novak Djokovic advanced into a seventh China Open final.
However, the official method of his victory will go down as a disqualification, despite being midway through a service game where he was serving for the win anyway.
Daniil Medvedev, who had certainly played his part in a hard-fought spectacle, allowed one moment of madness to completely undo nearly two hours of hard work, striking the ball into the crowd, which appeared to hit a fan just behind him.
The umpire, Mohamed Lahyani, was left with no choice.
Meanwhile, the Sky Sports commentators on hand were left speechless.
Reaction as Daniil Medvedev gets disqualified from his China Open semi-final vs Novak Djokovic
Pete Odgers, upon reviewing the footage, conceded: “Unfortunately, the umpire was left with no choice.”
He is right, and both players seemed accepting of the outcome, however disappointing it may have been.
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Annabel Croft then added: “We see so much emotion with players that sometimes it bubbles over like this, and with the crowd so close, these things can happen.
“It’s a great shame a match of such quality, great entertainment and was nip and tuck the whole way had to end like that.”
And the British pundit is completely right to make that claim too, bringing to an end an enthralling, good-natured and rather gruelling contest with a crash.
However, just as Novak Djokovic was disqualified at the US Open back in 2020 for accidentally hitting a line judge, Medvedev left the decision-makers with no other choice.
Martina Navratilova even added her unequivocal thoughts on X: “Medvedev just did a really stupid thing and he should be defaulted.
“And he just did get defaulted. Novak would have most likely served the match out anyway but yikes – Automatic default.”
This marks a second hugely impressive victory in as many days for Djokovic, who beat Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals yesterday.
Novak Djokovic becomes oldest-ever ATP 500 finalist
On a more positive note, Djokovic has just created another little slice of history, stealing a record that was previously held by Roger Federer.
After all, he is now the oldest man in ATP 500 history to have reached a final of an event of this stature.
| Player | Age | Tournament |
| Novak Djokovic | 39Y, 4M | 2026 Beijing |
| Roger Federer | 38Y, 2M | 2019 Basel |
| Roger Federer | 37Y, 10M | 2019 Halle |
| Feliciano Lopez | 37Y, 10M | 2019 Queen’s |
| Roger Federer | 37Y, 6M | 2019 Dubai |
| Ivo Karlovic | 37Y, 4M | 2016 Washington |
The Swiss superstar, who did so in Basel in 2019, was 38 years and two months old.
Djokovic, who did so today, is 39 years and four months old.
Other stars on the list include Federer again, twice, Feliciano Lopez, and Ivo Karlovic.
