'I feel terribly sorry': Medvedev after hitting spectator with ball during China Open match

Beijing: Daniil Medvedev felt "terribly sorry" for hitting a spectator with the ball during his China Open semifinal against Novak Djokovic, for which he was defaulted, and the Serb cruised into the final.

Medvedev was trailing 5-7, 3-5 and was 15-15 in the ninth game of the set when he instinctively hit the ball towards the crowd after it bounced back to him from the wall. The ball hit a fan around the left eye, after which he was defaulted, and Djokovic earned a walkover.

"I feel terribly sorry for him actually, and I just hope he's okay," Medvedev told reporters after the incident. "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."

The 2021 US Open champion called the incident an accident and hoped that the fan was fine. "It was 100 per cent an accident," Medvedev shared. "You can see that I didn't hit the ball in anger… The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to just hit it anywhere, so it wouldn't go out of the court.

"When I saw the result, I felt horrible because, again, I don't think I was ever close to such a situation. The most important thing is I hope that he's okay, because you never know with these types of situations."

Medvedev will have to forfeit the prize money from the tournament for the incident, which could cost more than USD 220,000. The Russian also praised Djokovic for the performance, as he was just three points away from losing the game.

"It was a tough match for me," Medvedev admitted. "He played really well. I felt he played like when we played our best matches. I had some opportunities, which I missed. He played incredibly, so I think he has big chances in the final."

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