Daniil Medvedev was defaulted from his China Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic after hitting a spectator with a ball.
The former world number one was heading to defeat in Beijing, before a moment of madness saw Medvedev defaulted from the tournament. He lost his prize money and ranking points as a result of the disqualification.
Former American ATP stars Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson have now shared their thoughts on the incident, suggesting whether they believe Medvedev deserved to be punished.
Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson don’t believe Daniil Medvedev deserved to lose Beijing points because of default
“[Daniil] Medvedev lightly hit a ball into the crowd; in my opinion, it hit a spectator in the face, yes, he probably should be defaulted [but] that dude sold it; his head was down. I would love to see a spectator get hit, pick the ball up and fire it back at Medvedev; how good would that be,” said Querrey during the latest episode of ‘Nothing Major‘.
“In my opinion, if you hit a fan like that, you’re defaulted. I think it’s black and white. That being said, the intent was not to hit somebody from Medvedev; he should not lose his points and money. That’s crazy; that’s a lot of points for him after the US Open, that he needs to make the year-end top eight. He can’t just lose 200 points; that’s a big number, given where he is in the rankings. I get it; he should be defaulted; there was no intent there. He shouldn’t lose his points and money, in my opinion,” added Johnson.
Live ATP Race to Turin
| Rank | Player | Country | Points | Status |
| 1 | Alexander Zverev | Germany | 8,790 | Qualified |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner | Italy | 7,950 | Won’t play |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz | Spain | 4,560 | Qualified |
| 4 | Ben Shelton | USA | 4,470 | Qualified |
| 5 | Flavio Cobolli | Italy | 3,540 | Currently qualifying |
| 6 | Frances Tiafoe | USA | 3,380 | Currently qualifying |
| 7 | Arthur Fils | France | 3,285 | Currently qualifying |
| 8 | Daniil Medvedev | Russia | 3,020 | Currently qualifying |
| 9 | Novak Djokovic | Serbia | 2,840 | Currently qualifying |
| 10 | Alex de Minaur | Australia | 2,730 | Not currently qualifying |
“You’ve got to look at it case by case; the intent was not there. It was not a malicious firing of the ball; he kind of hit it there softly. Dude, the man had his head down. Man up. Gosh, that was weak,” said Querrey.
Querrey and Johnson don’t think Medvedev deserved to have his points and prize money taken away from him. Johnson highlighted how closely fought the ‘Live ATP Race to Turin’ is this year.
Medvedev sits eighth, occupying one of the final qualification spots, but would’ve been 490 points clear of the chasing pack had he not lost 200 points for being defaulted in Beijing.
Now playing in Shanghai, Medvedev needs a strong performance to cement his place in the top eight, as he looks to return to the year-end finals having missed out 12 months ago.
Who will Daniil Medvedev play at the Shanghai Masters?
Medvedev will begin his Shanghai Masters campaign on Friday, October 10, against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. Medvedev leads their head-to-head 9-2, securing his ninth win last time out in Beijing.
Who will win the Shanghai Masters?
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If he can make it 10 wins in Shanghai, the Russian will advance to play Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Dalibor Svrcina in the third round. Then, in the last 16, he could meet Luciano Darderi, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Arnaldi, or Taylor Fritz.
Looking ahead, Carlos Alcaraz could await Medvedev in the quarter-finals. Alcaraz is 6-3 against Medvedev, although the 30-year-old won their last career meeting at Indian Wells this year.
He could then play Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals and Alexander Zverev in the final, but he won’t want to get too far ahead of himself. Medvedev is a former champion in Shanghai, lifting the trophy seven years ago, although he hasn’t returned to the final since. Perhaps 2026 will be his year. Only time will tell…
