Daniil Medvedev hit headlines when he whipped up the crowd in extraordinary scenes at the US Open on Sunday night. But it appears his controversial antics have been “brewing” for days. His opponent, Benjamin Bonzi, was serving for the win in the third set when a photographer walked onto the court on match point. The umpire gave Bonzi his first serve back, and Medvedev erupted.
He got the fans inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium going while he screamed at the chair official, and there was a delay of around six minutes before Bonzi could finally serve. Medvedev broke and even went on to force a decider, but the Frenchman came through 6-3 7-5 6-7(5) 0-6 6-4.
Medvedev often causes a stir, and has been involved in his fair share of controversy on the court over the years.
The former world No. 1 has had countless arguments with umpires, and he was even branded the villain of the US Open back in 2019, when he taunted the booing fans during a now-iconic on-court interview, before winning them over.
But Sunday night’s antics were a step too far for Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon champion, who witnessed Medvedev’s coach, Gilles Cervara, storm off the court during a pre-tournament practice session.
The former world No. 7 told Sky Sports: “It actually started in the previous week, in the lead-up to the tournament, when his coach, Gilles Cervara, just left the court during the practice.
“Medvedev was starting to have a meltdown during the practice, starting to do his own talking and breaking the racket, and his coach just took his whole belongings and just left and just left him there finishing his practice.
“So it has been brewing, something is probably happening outside as well of the court, that makes him feel like he can’t focus and can’t concentrate on the court.”
Medvedev is a former champion in Flushing Meadows, lifting his maiden Major trophy here in 2021. He’s also an ex-world No. 1, and has appeared in five other Grand Slam finals.
But he now has a 1-4 record at the Majors in 2025. He reached the second round at the Australian Open, and suffered first-round losses at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and now the US Open. Bonzi also beat him at the All England Club earlier this summer.
And Bartoli believes his game has also taken a turn for the worse. She continued: “He’s always been that player who just couldn’t miss a ball, he was someone that will be four, five yards behind the baseline and make you hit not two extra shots, but 10 extra shots.
“And that’s why it was so hard to beat him on a hard court, he was one of the top players on a hard court. And to see him losing completely his way on the court, not only mentally, his behaviour, but tennis-wise, it’s just tough to see.”
Retired British star Tim Henman agreed. “This is a guy that won here in 2021, he’s been in multiple Grand Slam finals elsewhere, and this year, he’s won one match in the Grand Slams,” he added.
“He’s the one that’s going to have to go away and not only look at his attitude, his behaviour yesterday, but really have a look at where his game is at. For me, he’s been such a consistent performer, top-five player, won 20 titles on the tour. And his form has disintegrated. He’s going to have to have a serious talk with himself and his team.”
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk