Daniil Medvedev was at the center of controversy at the ongoing US Open, which started on Sunday (August 24). The incident in question occurred during the Russians’ first-round match against France’s Benjamin Bonzi.
The match started well for the Frenchman as he was well on his way to repeating his Wimbledon heroics against Medvedev, where he had won against the Russian in a first-round encounter. Here in New York, he won the first two sets and secured a timely break in the third set, and was serving for the match at 5-4.
On match point, Bonzi missed his first serve, following which a cameraman seemed to move on the court during the game. Umpire Greg Allensworth spotted it and immediately criticised the cameraman, asking him to move out of the court, and awarded another first serve to Bonzi.
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This is the point where Daniil Medvedev lost all his cool, and went on a vocal rant against the umpire, stating that Allensworth was in a hurry to reach home. If that was not enough, the Russian riled up a raucous night crowd on the Louis Armstrong Stadium, who chanted "second serve," showing their stance against Allensworth's decision.
"Are you a man? Are you a man? why are you shaking? What’s wrong huh? He wants to go home guys. He doesn't like to be here. He gets paid by the match not by the hour," Daniil Medvedev said to Allensworth.
The match was halted for almost six minutes, post which Daniil Medvedev saved the match point and was able to get the break back in the third set. He took the set to a tiebreaker, winning it and taking the match to the fourth set.
Prominent tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg reported on X (Formerly Twitter) that the photographer in question was taken out of the court by security, following the incident.
Rothenberg also stated that the cameraman was further penalized, as his credentials were immediately cancelled for the rest of the tournament.
Daniil Medvedev loses his third straight first-round match at Grand Slams
The controversy and the interruption in the third set seemed to have shifted the entire momentum of the match in favor of Daniil Medvedev. The Russian player lost just nine points in the fourth set and bagelled his French opponent.
Medvedev broke the Bonzi serve in the very first game of the fifth set, and looked on course to complete a remarkable comeback. However, the Frenchman rallied back and broke back in the second game. There was another set of service breaks during the set as both players were trying to stay in the match. However, at 5-4, Bonzi got the decisive break, thrillingly winning the match.
This was the third straight first-round loss for Daniil Medvedev at the Grand Slams. He had previously lost against Cameron Norrie at the French Open before losing to Bonzi at Wimbledon. His only Grand Slam win this year came against Kasidit Samrej at the Australian Open in the first round before he lost against Learner Tien in the following round.
