By Simon Jennings
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Open descended into chaos on Sunday when a photographer came onto the court as Daniil Medvedev faced match point, bringing the first-round match to a standstill and sparking a spectacular meltdown from the Russian.
Former champion Medvedev was eventually knocked out 6-3 7-5 6-7(5) 0-6 6-4 by Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who threatened to walk off the court at one point and called for the Russian to be disqualified.
Serving for the match at 6-3 7-5 5-4, Bonzi was preparing to play his second serve when the photographer stepped onto the court surface.
The disruption led chair umpire Greg Allensworth to put Bonzi back onto his first serve, sparking an astonishing outburst from Medvedev.
“Are you a man? Are you a man? Why are you shaking?” the Russian shouted as he stormed towards the chair.
“He wants to go home, guys, he doesn’t like it here. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”
Medvedev also repeatedly shouted, “What did Reilly Opelka say?” at the official in reference to the U.S. player’s call for Allensworth to be suspended after receiving a code violation at the Dallas Open for confronting a spectator.
The match was halted for about six minutes as jeers, whistles and boos rang out around Louis Armstrong Stadium, with fans refusing to stay quiet so Bonzi could serve.
The USTA said the photographer was escorted from the court by U.S. Open security and that his credentials had been revoked.
The chaos almost proved Medvedev’s salvation.
After fending off the match point he broke to level the set at 5-5 before edging the tiebreak to force a fourth set.
The 2021 champion looked a completely different player in the fourth set as he dished out a bagel to level the match as his rattled opponent took a medical timeout for what appeared to be a knee issue.
Boos from the crowd continued for the remainder of the match, with some fans targeting Bonzi during his service motion.
The final set was much more of a contest, with the duo exchanging multiple breaks of serve as the match wound down to a nail-biting finish.
Spurred on my shouts of “Courage!” and “Allez!” from his box, Bonzi sealed the win with a glorious backhand, with Medvedev returning to his seat and smashing his racket.
“It was crazy. I may have got some new fans, but also some new non-fans,” said world number 51 Bonzi, who has now beaten Medvedev in all three of their Grand Slam encounters, each time in the first round.
“The energy was crazy. Thanks to all who were booing. Thanks for the energy.
“I’ve never experienced something like that. We waited maybe five minutes before the match point and it was crazy. There was so much noise.”
Medvedev becomes the first former champion to exit this year’s tournament, leaving Flushing Meadows after a horrible year at the majors where he managed to get to the second round just once.
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in New York; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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