Drama with photographer at US Open Medvedev flips out and berates the umpire: "Guys, he wants to leave"
Tennis pro Daniil Medvedev has made a name for himself as a bad boy. At the US Open, he uses a mistake by a photographer to inflame the atmosphere.
25.08.2025, 09:44
25.08.2025, 09:48
dpa
In an argument with the umpire, tennis pro Daniil Medvedev went berserk and caused quite a stir at the US Open. The Russian 2021 US Open champion was trailing France's Benjamin Bonzi 3:6, 5:7, 4:5 and had match point against him when the first-round match took a crazy turn due to an upset.
After Bonzi's first missed serve, a photographer interrupted the match when he ran onto the court. Referee Greg Allensworth decided to replay the first serve. And Medvedev, known for emotional outbursts and controversial scenes, went berserk.
Medvedev grumbles about the umpire
"Guys, he wants to go, he's paid per game, not per hour," Medvedev scolded the referee and fired up the crowd. The spectators in the second-largest Louis Armstrong Stadium booed and made so much noise that the match was interrupted for several minutes. Bonzi complained that the interruption was Medvedev's fault - and lost control of the match.
When play finally resumed, the crowd cheered when Bonzi made a mistake on his serve. The Frenchman was unable to capitalize on the match point, Medvedev managed the break and secured the third set in the tie-break. The former long-standing top ten player had won the crowd over to his side, repeatedly forming a heart in the direction of the spectators.
Bonzi then had no chance in the fourth set. The decisive fifth set was again hard-fought. Medvedev kept shaking his right hitting arm at the end as if he had a cramp. His race to catch up was then in vain.
Medvedev was defeated 3:6, 5:7, 7:6 (7:5), 6:0, 4:6. After 3:45 hours of play, he not only chopped up his racket at the end shortly before 1 a.m., but also threw a whole row of his rackets into the crowd. "It was a crazy scenario," said Bonzi.
Medvedev: "I didn't do anything bad"
Medvedev later explained that his anger had helped him get back into the match. It had been a funny moment. "I wasn't angry with the photographer. I was angry at the decision," said the 29-year-old. "I didn't do anything bad," he said, but is now expecting a fine.
