Greg Rusedski reacts to Daniil Medvedev ‘mocking’ Novak Djokovic in Beijing before disqualification

Daniil Medvedev mocking Novak Djokovic in their China Open match was the worst thing he could have done, according to Greg Rusedski.

The former British number one has shared that verdict after the dust has settled on the semifinal clash, which Djokovic won. But he emerged victorious only after Medvedev was disqualified for hitting a spectator with a ball. The Serbian was, however, leading the Russian 7-5, 5-3 at the time of the default.

Shortly after, Djokovic won the China Open title , although his final against Alex de Minaur was also cut short. He led the Australian 7-6(7-3), 0-1 before De Minaur was forced to retire because of injury.

Former ATP player Rusedski has, however, circled back to the controversy of the Djokovic versus Medvedev tie at the China Open , during which the Russian was spotted apparently mocking the Serbian's physical struggles in Beijing. He claims that was a mistake by Medvedev.

Daniil Medvedev told he made a mistake by mocking Novak Djokovic

Sharing his take on Medvedev's disqualification, Rusedski said on the Off Court With Greg Rusedski podcast : "It is game over, it's unfortunate, it was unintentional, these things happen. He will be bitterly disappointed, because it wasn't intentional, he was about to lose the match, he played a great match. You've got to be very careful where you throw your racket and where you hit the tennis ball, it can be unintentional, but it's an automatic [disqualification], the chair umpire did the right thing, and it was just terribly unfortunate for Daniil Medvedev."

Discussing the rules being there for a reason, he noted: "You can't [do that]. You hit the guy in the eye with a tennis ball… Thomas Johansson, the Australian Open champion, got hit in the eye when he was playing a match and he was out for months on end. The eyes are important, so we want to keep a safe environment for the fan. Sometimes we have to control our anger, these things happen, and he's quite an emotional player, he can lose it. He was mocking Djokovic during that match as well, pretending that he was having breathing problems. He's a unique character, Daniil Medvedev, he's good for the game, and this experience I think he's not going to do that again, it was just an accident and bad luck as well."

And commenting on Medvedev seemingly mocking Djokovic, Rusedski said: "I don't think he was [impressed]. The worst thing you can do is mock Novak. Because when you do that, he actually plays better. You want to keep your mouth shut, you want to play tennis, and you don't want to insult the great champion, because he looks for something a bit more to motivate him, and that's what Daniil gave him. So I think he made a tactical mistake and I think you can't do that to our champions. It's great for our entertainment value, but in respect, if you want to beat Novak Djokovic, you've got to make sure you don't give him extra ammunition."

The match between the experienced duo was full of drama, with China Open fans treated to quite the spectacle on the court. And it was the Serbian who prevailed en route to a 102nd career title. Both players now move on to the ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai, where they could meet in the final after the draw was confirmed.

Djokovic will play the winner of Hubert Hurkacz versus James Duckworth in his opening match, while Medvedev will meet either Martin Landaluce or Jan-Lennard Struff. Both players have received byes in round one in Shanghai, where the Serbian is the 10th seed and the Russian is the fifth.