Calm in real life but demons on court - Medvedev runs out of chances

Daniil Medvedev once said you would need to knock on his hotel door at 6am for seven days in a row to make him angry - but his China Open disqualification was no surprise.

On court, though, he is a far more combustible character who finally ran out of chances when he was disqualified from Monday's China Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic was serving for a place in the final when the ball ricocheted off the back of the court. Medvedev swiped it into the stands, where it hit a spectator in the face.

A few minutes later the Russian was defaulted, as he had to be, under rules that bar a player from "hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly, or with negligent disregard of the consequences."

Players have got away with worse. There is sometimes anger in their actions, but it is rarely of the bulging-neck-vein variety.

It is more often a sign of irritation and petulance, with frustrations taken out on the ball with little care for the safety of officials, ball kids and the spectators who line the court.

Source: BBC Sport