Daniil Medvedev lost his cool after taking another first-round defeat at a Grand Slam this year on Sunday. The Russian tennis star faced a tough defeat in five sets at the hands of France’s Benjamin Bonzi at the 2025 US Open.
The frustrations were visible on Medvedev’s face after the match, which saw him saving the match point in the third set, taking a 6-0 set in the fourth, only to ultimately lose the final set, 6-4. This marked the second straight time that the Frenchman has landed a defeat to Medvedev in the first round of a Grand Slam match.
While Bonzi was celebrating his victory, Medvedev sat down on his bench filled with frustration. Moments later, he started to smash his racquet against the bench and destroyed it.
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Seeing this, several legends of the game have passed on comments about the Russian pro's mental state. Boris Becker, the three-time Wimbledon champion, took to X and offered his take on Medvedev:
"We call this “public meltdown “ … I think he needs professional help ?!?"
Apart from Becker, Patrick McEnroe, a respected TV commentator and former USTA player development chief, requested Medvedev to consider taking the rest of the year off. He wrote:
"And Medvedev needs to take the rest of the year off"
The loss marks another premature exit from a major tournament this year. Earlier, at the Australian Open, he was defeated by a 19-year-old qualifier, Learner Tien. It was a five-setter, going against Medvedev, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 6-1, 6-7(7).
On the clay, he was defeated by Cameron Norrie in the first round of the French Open, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 5-7. Bonzi took down Daniil Medvedev at the Wimbledon championship, 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2.
Daniil Medvedev erupts after the cameraman's unexpected movement leads to chaos.
Daniil Medvedev's frustration started boiling in the third set of the match. During the tiebreak, a fan unexpectedly entered the court, causing a small disruption. Because of this, chair umpire Greg Allensworth granted a first serve to Benjamin Bonzi. This decision didn't sit well with Medvedev as he made his frustration known to the umpire. He called out the chair umpire, saying:
"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."
He also referenced Reilly Opelka, calling Allensworth the worst umpire on the tour to further criticise the chair umpire. Some fans in the crowd got behind Daniil Medvedev as well in the process. However, in the end, his comeback went in vain.
