Daniil Medvedev has said he is expecting a “big fine” after a meltdown at the US Open as his opponent was serving for the match.
The former champion’s first round clash was delayed by nearly seven minutes after a photographer prematurely entered the court on match point between Benjamin Bonzi’s first and second serve.
The Russian tennis player, who won the tournament in 2021, was enraged by the chair umpire’s decision to award his French opponent a first serve following the incident, which happened when Bonzi was serving at 6-3 7-5 5-4 with the advantage, at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
A photographer entered the court, prompting chair umpire Greg Allensworth to shout: “Wait please, not now. Get off the court, please,” before announcing that Bonzi would get another first serve because of the delay.
“First serve. Ladies and gentlemen, because of the delay caused by an onside interference, first serve has been granted,” Allensworth announced.
A furious Medvedev then approached the chair to complain about the decision and whipping up the booing crowd.
He shouted: “Are you a man? Why are you shaking? He wants to go home guys, he doesn’t like to be here. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”
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Although Medvedev then returned to the baseline, he continued to encourage the reaction of the crowd and it was more than six minutes before Bonzi finally hit his serve.
When Bonzi finally did, he double-faulted. Medvedev won the game and then took the set in a tie-breaker to prolong the clash.
However, the Frenchman eventually sealed a 6-3 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 0-6 6-4 victory with a visibly emotional Medvedev smashing his racket against his chair as Bonzi celebrated.
Medvedev placed the blame on the crowd after the defeat, saying: “What I say and what I do, in my head, I want to do worse, and I cannot because there are rules, because we’re on a tennis court.
“So I just expressed my emotions, my unhappiness with the decision, and then the crowd did what they did without me asking them too much, and it was fun to witness.”
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The 29-year-old Russian declined to speak more about Allensworth, adding: “I’m getting a big fine enough, so if I speak, I’m in big trouble, so I’m not going to speak.”
Bonzi was unhappy with Medvedev’s behaviour, saying: “Daniil started it, and he put oil on the fire. He went crazy with the crowd. Honestly, I never saw that.”
