Daniil Medvedev is not likely to reflect positively on the 2025 Grand Slam season after the former World No. #1 ended his Major tournaments with only one victory, suffering a 6-3 7-5 6-7(5) 0-6 6-4 loss against Benjamin Bonzi on Sunday night at the US Open.
After capturing the third set amid tumultuous scenes, Medvedev surrendered two breaks in the final set. Following the handshake with Bonzi, he threw six racquets from his bag into the crowd.
Despite displaying resilience and impressive shot-making, Medvedev had a performance fraught with errors on Louis Armstrong Stadium, amassing 64 unforced errors in total. For Bonzi, this marked a second successive Grand Slam victory against Medvedev after his four-set win over him at Wimbledon in late June.
The 20-time tour-level champion started his Grand Slam season by coming back from a two-sets-to-one deficit to prevail over then-World No. #418 Kasidit Samrej at the Australian Open. He then lost to Learner Tien in five sets during the second round in Melbourne, subsequently being defeated by Cameron Norrie in five sets at Roland Garros, and now by Bonzi at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
The match between Medvedev and Bonzi in New York was filled with excitement. Bonzi looked poised to finish the upset when he approached the serve at match point in the third set, but an unforeseen disruption led to chaotic scenes on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The uproar began in the third set, when a photographer dashed onto the court from the entrance to settle in the photographers’ pit after Bonzi failed to make his first serve on match point. Umpire Greg Allensworth granted Bonzi another first serve due to the disturbance. Medvedev rushed toward the umpire’s chair to protest and then prompted the crowd to create as much noise as possible.
The loud crowd noise held up play for around five minutes. While Bonzi moved about at the back of the court, even Medvedev appeared worried things were getting out of hand and signalled for the tumult to cease. When play resumed, a fault by Bonzi triggered a massive cheer from the fans. When Medvedev won a baseline rally to bring the score to deuce, the crowd roared.
Enormous cheers erupted when Medvedev attained and converted a break point to level the score at 5-5, subsequently making a heart shape with his hands to express gratitude for their support. After capturing the set in a tie-break, he repeated the gesture.
Medvedev surged ahead in the fourth set and broke serve in the first game of the fifth. However, he immediately returned the break. He also relinquished a break at 3-3. Despite not serving at full strength due to a leg issue, Bonzi fended off five break points to hold serve at 4-3 and broke Medvedev in the last game of the match to achieve an exhilarating win with the guidance of his new coach, Nicolas Mahut.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
