Day: October 5, 2026

Djokovic was leading 7-5, 5-3 when Medvedev struck a ball into the stands after losing a point. The ball, which had rebounded from the back wall, hit a spectator in the front row in the eye, Anadolu Agency reported.

The spectator was helped from the stands before Medvedev was defaulted, sending Djokovic into the final.

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Djokovic said he was “shocked” by the decision and expressed sympathy for both the injured spectator and Medvedev.

“I also feel sorry for Daniil. I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match,” Djokovic said.

The 39-year-old Serbian was himself defaulted from the 2020 US Open after accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball.

The result extended Djokovic’s perfect China Open record to 33-0 and secured his place in a seventh Beijing final.

Djokovic will face Alex de Minaur in Tuesday’s final after the Australian advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired with an adductor injury while trailing 6-4, 3-2.

In the women’s draw, eighth-seeded Iga Swiatek staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Croatia’s Donna Vekic 4-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-2 and reach the last 16.

Vekic, the 30th seed, won the opening set and moved 5-2 ahead in the second, serving twice for the match before Swiatek fought back.

The Polish player broke twice to level the set at 5-5 before dominating the tiebreak without dropping a point to force a deciding set.

Swiatek then took control of the third set to complete the comeback after two hours and 40 minutes.

“I was just angry, wanted to change something, because clearly it wasn’t working,” Swiatek said after the match.

The 2023 China Open champion will next face American Iva Jovic for a place in the quarterfinals.

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Several drivers experienced dramatic power reductions or were forced to slow or stop during the formation lap before Sunday’s race at the Sepang International Circuit, Anadolu Agency reported.

The FIA said an “unprecedented combination” of low engine speeds, low-grip conditions, wet-weather energy-management settings and the configuration of the circuit caused a number of cars to lose power.

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The governing body said its Technical Department removed an energy-limit constraint in the affected sectors through an updated software release while the race was delayed by heavy rain. The update allowed teams to make the necessary changes to their power units before the race began.

According to the FIA, neither the governing body nor the teams detected the issue during testing or on the laps leading to the grid.

“The FIA, together with the teams and Power Unit manufacturers, will undertake a full review of the issue,” it said.

The race start was delayed by 40 minutes because of heavy rain. Among the drivers affected during the formation lap were eventual winner Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen said the incident highlighted the increasing complexity of modern Formula 1 power units and their dependence on software.

The Red Bull driver said he was the first to experience the problem and then noticed several other cars struggling behind him. He compared the unusual situation to a “Lego race,” referring to the drivers’ parade at this year’s British Grand Prix in which drivers raced life-sized Lego cars.

Hamilton agreed that the affected cars were traveling at similar speeds.

Verstappen said the situation became particularly unusual when several cars were running alongside each other on the straight because of the power limitations.

Hamilton said his Ferrari eventually slowed so much that he had to stop the car on track, switch off the engine and restart it.

“I had to stop on track and stop the car and engine and restart it. I’ve never done that before,” the seven-time world champion said.

Despite the disruption, Verstappen went on to win the race ahead of Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli. Hamilton recovered from 18th place after an unsuccessful tire strategy and finished third.

The post F1 investigates software glitch that caused power losses in Malaysia​ appeared first on azeritimes.com.