Medvedev loses cool, head and match to Bonzi on wild night at US Open
If the US Open needed drama, excitement, wild behaviour and an upset, Daniil Medvedev provided it. The Sunday night session at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York was wild, with Medvedev, often dubbed ‘Madvedev’ losing in five sets to Benjamin Bonzi. For the record, this was not the first time Medvedev was losing his cool and the match.
Watching him speak to the chair umpire roughly and throw more tantrums, this was typical crazy stuff from Medvedev, the former US Open champion. At the end, when he was cramping and lost, he went and smashed his tennis racquet 11 times! Phew, was this madness or something natural, one does not know for sure. Sure enough, Medvedev’s wild behaviour has come in for caustic criticism from many quarters
For those who love drama and excitement, Medvedev struggling against Bonzi was typical. The same opponent had slammed the door on him at Wimbledon as well, recently. Perhaps, the craziest stuff happened at 5-4 in the third set with Bonzi serving at match point when a photographer mistakenly entered the playing area between the first and second serves. The chair umpire called for the point to be replayed, meaning another first serve for Bonzi. It did piss off Medvedev. Sure enough, Medvedev complained and there was chaos inside the stadium with play held up for several minutes. On resumption, Medvedev looked different and clinched the third set in a tie-break. He continued to run through the fourth set as well.
And then came the climactic fifth set, where both players were going hammer and tong at each other. The momentum shifted when Medvedev himself has physical problems, cramps, which saw Bonzi break his serve and force a bizarre win.
Indeed, the 2025 tennis season has been a crazy one for Medvedev, who looks past prime. The former numero uno and US Open champion in 2021 was seeded 13th now. Yet, his exit signals more misery. “I have no idea,” said Bonzi, when asked on the match. “It was crazy, and I may have got new fans, the energy was wild. Match point in the third, then exhausted in the fourth till I gave it all in the fifth set,” said Bonzi.
Rewind to the histrionics on court, Medvedev was seething with rage when he had a go at chair umpire Gregory Allensworth. “Are you a man, are you a man,” thundered Medvedev when the umpire has allowed Bonzi to serve again when a photographer had caused a big interruption. Medvedev went on to question the umpire, shout at the crowd as well. There were boos for Medvedev, but he did not care about it. As for the photographer who had caused more than a flutter, his credentials have been taken away by the US Open security.
For those who have seen crazy behaviour from players, one man identified himself as enfant terrible. Maybe, just maybe, Mac would have been reminded of the meltdown he used to have with chair umpires in the past where profanity was on view. For those who saw all this on TV, this was drama. Yet, one does feel bad, Bonzi’s thunder was stolen by Medvedev’s bad behaviour.
