Daniil Medvedev was knocked out of the US Open after a spectacular meltdown as he faced match point against Benjamin Bonzi.
Serving for the win at 6-3, 7-5, 5-4, Bonzi was preparing his second serve when a photographer stepped onto the court.
“Wait please, not now. Get off the court, please,” chair umpire Greg Allensworth, who was involved in a heated moment with Taylor Fritz earlier this month, shouted.
He then announced that Bonzi would get another first serve because of the delay to play.
“First serve. Ladies and gentlemen, because of the delay caused by an onside interference, first serve has been granted,” Allensworth said.
The umpire’s decision sparked boos and jeers from the crowd, and Medvedev then approached the chair to remonstrate.
Medvedev takes aim at ‘worst’ US Open umpire
“Are you a man? Are you a man? Why are you shaking?” the Russian shouted as he stormed across court.
“He wants to go home, guys, he doesn’t like it here. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”
Encouraged by the noise from the crowd, Medvedev then took aim at Allensworth and appeared to reference previous comments about the umpire made by a fellow tour star.
“What did Reilly Opelka say?” he asked.
“We were talking about him in the locker room, all the players, it really is a coincidence about two days ago (we were talking about the worst umpire on the tour and he) is the worst one.”
Opelka said in February after a run-in with Allensworth at the Dallas Open at the umpire ‘doesn’t really know what he is doing’.
The match was suspended for almost six minutes as Medvedev’s meltdown unfolded while jeers and whistles continued to ring out around Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Some fans refused to stay quiet so Bonzi could serve, and when he finally did — after his opponent signalled for an end to the chaos — the Frenchman faulted.
That drew a roar from fans, and Medvedev went on to win a baseline exchange to get back to deuce.
US Open chaos sparks Medvedev fight back
He then won a break point to level the set at 5-5, threatening an unlikely comeback that was born from on-court chaos.
Medvedev, who won the US Open in 2021 and lost the final two years later, clinched the third set in a tie-break and made a heart symbol with his hands to thank the crowd for their support.
He won the fourth set 6-0 to level the match, and Bonzi — who appeared rattled — took a medical timeout for an apparent knee issue.
Boos from the crowd continued into the deciding set, with some targeting the Frenchman during his serves.
Despite that, he battled back and the two players exchanged multiple breaks before a nail-biting finish.
Bonzi, 29, held his nerve down the stretch and fought off five break points to hold for 4-3, and then broke Medvedev in the final game to secure a dramatic win.
The USTA later confirmed the photographer who stepped on court was escorted away US Open security, and that his credentials had been revoked.
When asked how to sum up the dramatic win, Bonzi said: ““I have no idea.
“It was crazy. I may have got some new fans… the energy was wild.
“Match point in the third, then crazy scenario, then exhausted in the fourth, and give all I have in the fifth. I never experienced something like that.”
Bonzi will next face American Marcos Giron in the second round of the US Open, while Medvedev’s dramatic defeat means he failed to make it past the second round of any Grand Slam tournament in 2025.
He repeatedly smashed his racket before eventually departing, having sat on court for some time after the match, in which Bonzi also made history.
With victories over Medvedev at both Wimbledon and the US Open this year, Bonzi became the first player in the Open Era to defeat a Grand Slam champion in opening men’s singles matches at consecutive Grand Slam events.