Daniil Medvedev handed triple blow after being disqualified from China Open over fan incident

Daniil Medvedev is facing a triple blow as a result of his disqualification from his China Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic.

Medvedev was sanctioned after he hit a spectator in the front row with a ball after losing a point to Djokovic, with the scores at 5-7, 3-5 at the time.

Both players were almost immediately informed by the chair umpire and an ATP supervisor that Medvedev had been defaulted, with Djokovic progressing through to the final against Alex De Minaur.

Daniil Medvedev hit with major blow after China Open incident

Medvedev's disqualification from the match and tournament means he will be forced to give up all ranking points and prize money he would have otherwise earned in Beijing.

He was due to receive 200 ranking points and around £166,000 in prize money for reaching the last four, but that will now be wiped from the record books.

Medvedev sat relatively comfortably in eighth place in the Race to the ATP Finals ranking, with the top eight players qualifying for the tournament due to be held in Turin.

He held a 530-point advantage over ninth-placed De Minaur, and a 560-point advantage over 10th-placed Djokovic.

The latter two players will face each other in the final in Beijing, and could reach a total of 2,860 points and 2,830 points respectively.

A win for De Minaur, combined with Medvedev's ranking points drop, would see the Russian's advantage cut to only 160 points.

Medvedev can appeal the sanction and could have his ranking points restored, but is facing a tricky situation at present with several tournaments still to play.

What ATP rules say about Daniil Medvedev's disqualification

The ATP regulations explicitly state that a player is forbidden from 'violently, dangerously or with anger' hitting the ball unless they are playing a point.

Medvedev's violation will likely have fallen under the second description, given that it hit a spectator on the front row.

The full regulation reads: "Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball while on the grounds of the tournament site, except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including warm-up).

"For purposes of this rule, abuse of balls is defined as intentionally or recklessly hitting a ball out of the enclosure of the court, hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with disregard of consequences."

Medvedev has yet to address the incident publicly, with the world number five also missing his opportunity to take a further step forward in the ATP rankings as a result of his disqualification.

More to follow...