Daniil Medvedev’s U.S. Open match vs. Benjamin Bonzi delayed after crowd refuses to be quiet

NEW YORK — There was bedlam at the U.S. Open Sunday night, when Daniil Medvedev’s 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4 defeat to Benjamin Bonzi was delayed for six minutes after a photographer prematurely entered the court.

France’s Bonzi was up match point against former world No. 1 and U.S. Open champion Medvedev on Louis Armstrong Stadium, leading 6-3, 7-5, 5-4, when he missed a first serve. At this point, a photographer walked onto the court thinking the match was about to finish. Because of the delay caused by him coming onto the court, umpire Greg Allensworth ruled that Bonzi should have a first serve back, rather than having to hit a second serve.

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The USTA later told The Athletic that the photographer had had his credential for the tournament revoked after being escorted from the court by security.

Medvedev, always a volatile player who knows how to work a crowd, berated Allensworth and demanded the crowd to make some noise and show their displeasure.

After claiming that Allensworth “wanted to leave” because he gets “paid by the match, not by the hour,” he shouted toward the camera: “Reilly Opelka was right!” and “What did Reilly Opelka say?”

This was in apparent reference to the American player saying in February that: “The guy (Allensworth) shouldn’t have a job or should be sidelined for about four weeks, maybe learn a thing or two,” after he penalized Opelka for swearing at a spectator at the Dallas Open.

INSANE scenes in the Medvedev & Bonzi match at US Open A cameraman was trying to leave after Bonzi missed his 1st serve. The umpire gave Bonzi a 1st serve. Daniil: “Are you a man? Are you a man? why are you shaking? What’s wrong huh? Guys he wants to leave. He gets paid by… pic.twitter.com/nzlqgoWxre — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 25, 2025

With the noise deafening, Bonzi waited before serving. Amid chants of “second serve,” Allensworth tried and failed to quieten the crowd, with Bonzi asking why Medvedev did not receive a time violation for inciting the commotion.

Medvedev, relishing playing the villain, even blew kisses in Allensworth’s direction.

“They did the work. I didn’t do anything,” Medvedev said in his news conference. “The crowd did what they did without me asking them too much, and it was fun to witness.”

Eventually, after a six-minute delay, Bonzi did serve, missing it, before sending a backhand into the net after a nervy second serve. Medvedev won the next two points and broke to rescue the match, sending the crowd into a frenzy. He then claimed the set in a tiebreak, resurrected after the most unlikely of delays.

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Medvedev made a heart sign to the crowd after pinching the set, and it looked as though Bonzi wouldn’t recover from the crushing disappointment of losing his lead in such strange circumstances. He called on the trainer midway through the fourth set and ended up losing it 6-0, before being broken immediately at the start of the fifth.

Bonzi broke back immediately and had to do so again after losing his serve at 2-2, before fending off five break points to hold for 4-3. There was still plenty of drama to come, when Medvedev, serving down 5-4, started to suffer badly from hand cramps. He was struggling to serve and had to vigorously shake his hand out between points. This prompted his fans in the crowd to do the same, in homage to a man who for many years has been the great antihero of the U.S. Open. At deuce, Medvedev was finally given a time violation, and then sent a backhand long to fall down match point about an hour and a half after Bonzi had first earned one.

There was to be no reprieve this time, as a sprawling Medvedev couldn’t control a Bonzi backhand passing shot. After nearly four hours of barely believable drama, the Frenchman was through.

A furious Medvedev sat on his chair after shaking his opponent’s hand and absolutely obliterated a racket. It was his third straight first-round exit at a Grand Slam, and means he’ll end the year with just one match win at the majors. His ranking will fall further from No. 13 as the quarterfinal points he won last year drop off. Medvedev was so furious that he didn’t exit the stage until midway through Bonzi’s on-court interview.

Meanwhile a disbelieving Bonzi said that he had “no idea” how he had won the match.

“It was crazy. I maybe got some new fans but also some non-fans,. It was wild. A crazy scenario.”

He added that he had “never experienced something like that. It was so difficult to play. So noisy, during points, between the points. I tried to stay calm, and at the end I gave all I had.”

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Bonzi will next take on America’s Marcos Giron in the second round on Wednesday.

As for Medvedev, it’s tough to know where he goes from here. In a year of chastening defeats, this was another one to add to the collection. His title win here in 2021, and two final defeats in 2019 and 2023, all feel like an awfully long time ago.

“I’m playing bad and in important moments, even worse. Everything. Everything. Serve, return, volley, whatever. Just need to play better, and I’m going to try to do it next year,” he said.

(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)

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