NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 24: Daniil Medvedev breaks his racket after losing in five sets to Benjamin Bonzi of France during their Men’s Singles First Round match on Day One of the 2025 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2025 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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Daniil Medvedev wrote another raucous chapter in his U.S. Open life story after a volley of histrionics during and after a first-round defeat to Benjamin Bonzi on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was the first time the U.S. Open had started on a weekend. This was what that extra day was for in terms of fan engagement. Tennis was the sport, but the drama was box-set appeal.
The first half of Medvedev and Bonzi’s match was a limp made-for-TV movie, but it suddenly burst into an all-action thriller with a horror ending. Medvedev’s post-match racket destruction was a hard watch as he lost 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0, 4-6.
What threatened to be a meek, straight-sets exit for the 13th seed went full-metal crazy on match point down when Bonzi was interrupted from serving it out after a photographer absent-mindedly walked onto the court. Medvedev was incandescent when the umpire gave his opponent an extra serve because of the disruption.
Cue mayhem and a Medvedev tirade directed at chair umpire Greg Allensworth: “Are you a man? Are you a man? Why are you shaking?” the Russian vented as he stormed towards the chair. Medvedev has always promised that he would be himself on court and not pretend to thank anyone for the sake of likes. He has played to his tune, but here he performed a rogue Pied Piper parade that took the crowd on a journey with him.
The 2021 champion’s relationship with spectators in New York has been as volatile as his temperament. In 2019, he regularly triggered the fans with celebrations and post-match comments that were designed to challenge the normal niceties. Medvedev is wired differently. The crowd understood by the time he lost to Rafael Nadal in the final
When his fuse threatened to blow completely here on the edge of elimination, the 29-year-old decided to holler for support. The six-and-a-half-minute stoppage that ensued clearly affected his opponent.
It worked a treat, and all of that anger and frustration that Medvedev has held within for the train wreck of this season’s slams hitting the buffers melted away as he stormed back to take the next two sets. This was competitive Medvedev, a man who has appeared in six slam finals and who probably should have won four of them.
Having bageled Bonzi 6-0 in the fourth set to tie things up, there was only one winner. Then the bounce of the match locked back into 50-50 mode, and those fine margins don’t fall in favor of Medvedev this year when things get tight. It’s as if he pulls it back to tease the idea of winning, only to lose the shootout.
Three of his Grand Slam final losses were in the fifth set when he was two sets up. In 2025, he has been two sets down in all his five-set losses at the majors. That’s a different kind of hurt.
Medvedev is losing to the lesser man – in rankings terms, anyway. Cameron Norrie is a good player, but he was world No. 81 and was two sets up on Medvedev at Roland Garros before the natural order took over, and the latter took a grip of the match. Medvedev couldn’t serve it out at 5-4 and lost. The frustration that was simmering threatened to explode there.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 16: Daniil Medvedev reacts as he throws his racket in the Men’s Singles Second Round match against Learner Tien of the United States during day five of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
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At the Australian Open, Medvedev showed his vulnerability again. He was two sets down to ATP Next Gen graduate Learner Tien, who was competitive in the second set against Novak Djokovic on Monday. The narrative was the same. A fightback was followed by eventual defeat and a whole raft of outbursts.
He started the year at world No. 5, but the heartbreak of defeats has done mortal damage to his mentality. Medevdev has always vocalized his venom inside. Now it’s impinging on his form.
When he beat Djokovic in his only major title success at Flushing Meadows, Medvedev was transparent about how this beautiful sport turns ugly. “Tennis is a brutal sport because two persons are starting from the first round and only one can win – that’s brutal, so, after the match I said sorry.”
Four years later, Medvedev can’t get past the first round in slams. After beating Djokovic in New York, Medvedev did the ‘dead fish’ celebration that was well-known in the FIFA console game. After losing to Bonzi, his relevance as an internet meme isn’t based on his tennis ability.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timellis/2025/08/25/daniil-medvedevs-us-open-meltdown-completes-major-year-from-hell/
