Novak Djokovic is looking to continue his undefeated streak at the China Open against Daniil Medevedev in the semifinals of the ATP 500 tournament.
Djokovic has beaten Nuno Borges, Yunchaokete Bu, and Alexander Zverev in Beijing to reach the final four – and take his undefeated streak to 32 matches at the China Open.
He faces a tough challenge against Medvedev, but he started the match in solid fashion against his Russian rival.
Medvedev and Djokovic shared breaks in the opening four matches in a gruelling opening hour.
With such intense rallies, Djokovic was once again taking his time between points, but umpire Mohammed Layani did not give him an official warning.
He did, however, chat to Djokovic between games.
Nick Lester and Annabel Croft, on commentary duties for Sky Sports Tennis, believe the umpire was giving Djokovic a ‘soft warning’ for his time delay.
More Novak Djokovic news
“I’m assuming that’s about the time. Mohammed Layani is very good at giving soft warnings. I think that’s what that was about,” said Lester.
Croft responded: “Well, I think it was about that too. I can’t think what else it would be about.
“And yesterday, Djokovic was also having discussions with the umpire so maybe what Layani has done is give him a soft warning, just to say I’m giving you a bit of a warning and I might have to bring it into play at some point.”
In the next game, when Djokovic was looking to hold his serve, Layani brandished the Serbian with a time violation warning, so the ‘soft warning’ did not last long at all.
Medvedev and Djokovic are battling it out for a place in the final, where the winner of the tie will play Alex de Minaur.
The Australian defeated Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinals, thanks to the Polish star’s withdrawal while de Minaur was a set and a break up.
De Minaur has a losing record against both men, so either Medvedev or Djokovic will enter the China Open final as the slight favourite.
Djokovic has beaten De Minaur in three of their four matches on the ATP Tour, including their most recent meeting in the round of 16 of Wimbledon in 2025.
Medvedev, meanwhile, has picked up eight victories against the Australian in their 12 matches. That includes their last meeting, which came in China at the Shanghai Masters.
However, De Minaur has sailed through the competition in straightforward fashion, buoyed by Hurkacz’s retirement, while Djokovic and Medvedev looks set to be a gruelling semifinal contest.
The final is set to take place on Tuesday, 6th October, with play set to begin at 12pm UK time or 7pm local time.
