Daniil Medvedev broke his silence on the on-court meltdown during his brutal US Open first-round exit on Sunday night against Benjamin Bonzi. The former world No. 1, who admitted that he is expecting a hefty fine for his outburst at the umpire, blamed the crowd for the lengthy delay during the match’s third set. Medvedev lost 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4 – his third straight round-one defeat in a Slam this year and a first at the US Open since his main draw debut in the tournament in 2017.
The incident happened when Bonzi was on match point in the third set at 5-4. After his first serve hit the net, chair umpire Greg Allensworth gave the Frenchman a first serve instead of a second, explaining that a photographer had interrupted him after stepping onto the court surface. The decision sparked Medvedev’s fury as he vehemently argued with the match official.
“I wasn’t upset with the photographer,” Medvedev told reporters in the press conference. “I was upset with the decision. Every time there’s a sound from the stands between serves, there’s never a second serve. But the umpire gave him a first serve. That’s what made me angry.”
The argument was followed by Medvedev yelling at the broadcast camera, saying, “What did Reilly Opelka?” For the unversed, the American had called Allensworth the ‘worst umpire on the tour’ earlier in February this year during the Dallas Open, for which he was fined.
Explaining his remark, Medvedev admitted that he will likely face a similar consequence for his outburst. “I’m getting a big enough fine, so if I speak, I’m in big trouble, so I’m not gonna speak. Not everyone knows what I’m talking about when I say Reily. He got fined big time for this so I’m gonna get a big fine too,” he said.
When pressed about how much he expected, the Russian added: “I have no idea they fine guys like me much more than other guys… Kyrgios, me, Bublik, who else? Reilly. Even if Reilly’s a nice guy and they fine him just because they don’t like him.”
The crowd at the Louis Armstrong Stadium did not support Medvedev’s act and booed him. But the former US Open champion riled them up, crafted heart emojis with his hand, and blew flying kisses as the crowd continued to jeer. This resulted in a considerable delay, but the 28-year-old blamed the crowd for it.
“They did the work, I didn’t do anything. And they pushed me to come back into the match… it was fun for me,” he said.
When asked whether the delay affected the momentum of the match, Medvedev added: “At one moment I asked them to stop. But they didn’t. I thought ‘ok let’s try to control them to stop.’ But they didn’t want to stop. So whatever. But he had a moment, like I think, as you say 6 minutes, but one time after 3 minutes, he had a moment where he could serve and one guy would whistle and he didn’t serve. His problem.”
