Daniil Medvedev was lucky to avoid being disqualified after he hit a spectator in the face during his first-round match at the
Vienna Open.
The World No. 3 was dominating his clash against rising talent
Arthur Fils at the
ATP 500 tournament when the incident occurred. This was Medvedev's first competition since he suffered a shock defeat in the second round of the Shanghai Masters and it was clear that he wanted redemption here.
The Russian broke Fils in the seventh game and went on to take the first set 6-4, with a W-0 sealed by an ace in his final service game of the opener.
Medvedev nearly loses dominant win
Things were going even better for the 27-year-old in the second set. He broke his opponent twice to take a 5-1 lead, but he almost lost it all in a split second.
Fils served down the middle and the ball soared past Medvedev. However, as it bounced off the backboard it flew towards him. He reacted in a moment of confusion and swung at it with his racket, accidentally causing the ball to hit a spectator in the face.
Players have been disqualified for hitting spectators with balls in the past, but as it was clearly an accident and Medvedev apologized immediately to the understanding fan, the match continued and he won comfortably, 6-4, 6-2.
Medvedev will go on to face Grigor Dimitrov in the second round of the Vienna Open.
