What made Daniil Medvedev melt down in US Open Round 1 loss

Before Benjamin Bonzi upset highly favored Daniil Medvedev under the lights at Louis Armstrong stadium on Sunday night, a photographer who jumped the gun to get the shot caused quite a stir inside the U.S. Open arena.

Daniil Medvedev has meltdown on the court at US Open over photographer, delay, umpire decision

It was the moment of the match that had the internet abuzz: French tennis star Bonzi was in control, serving for match point — up 5-4 in the third set — when a photographer entered the court.

Chair umpire Greg Allensworth told the man to get off the court, then awarded Bonzi another first serve due to the delay, which prompted fury from Medvedev.

Although Medvedev was already one point from being eliminated, the No. 13 seed began yelling at the umpire for the decision, threw his hands in the air, egged on the notoriously vocal New York City crowd, and smashed his racquet repeatedly into the court and bench.

“This is just Meddy being Meddy,” former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick told “Good Morning America” while rewatching the incident Monday morning. “He loses it and … if I was critical, it would be hypocritical. I remember in 2019, he had a bunch of meltdowns — everyone hated him at the beginning of the tournament, by the end of the tournament, everyone appreciated him.”

Medvedev’s meltdown became a catalyst for his mid-match resurgence, going on to win the next two sets and forcing a fifth before Bonzi officially beat him.

When asked if Medvedev’s racket destruction was unsportsmanlike, Roddick said Monday, “What other sports is it unsportsmanlike if you just break your own stuff? That’s his racket, he can break it if he wants.”

“I think as long as it is not affecting your opponent — he’s having a meltdown on his own time. It’s not helping him,” Roddick added. “I think being disrespectful to your opponent or playing games that way I’m probably a lot more offended [by] than yelling, screaming, and breaking your stuff.”

The four-hour 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 0-6, 6-4 victory sent the Russian tennis star packing early from the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens.

Medvedev’s only Grand Slam major came in 2021 at the U.S. Open when he defeated Novak Djokovic.

In 2023, he made it back to the finals in a rematch against the Serbian tennis star, who defeated Medvedev in straight sets.

The American men were looking calm, cool and collected in their opening rounds on Sunday with dominant performances from both Ben Shelton — who locked up his match in straight sets — and 2024 runner up Taylor Fritz, who took out wildcard entry Emilio Nava.

Roddick, who was the last American man to win the title in 2003, said he hopes this is the year that one of the 23 American men in the draw will end the drought.

“Ben’s playing great. Taylor, obviously the finalist last year. Tommy Paul has been a semifinalist in a Grand Slam, Frances [Tiafoe] has been a semifinalist in a Grand Slam,” Roddick said. “They’re getting to the tail end of Slams. This is not the same sort of momentum that we were talking about 10 or 12 years ago. It was getting away from us, and I really do think we are gaining on it.”

As for the American women, Jessica Pegula defeated Egyptian Mayar Sherif in her first-round match under the lights at Arthur Ashe on Sunday night.

“Let’s be very clear, the women have never stopped winning,” Roddick said. “We had Venus and Serena [Williams] straight into Coco [Gauff]. The last four slams, we have had an American woman represented in the final.”

Roddick added, “Four out of the top eight seeds are women. Then you have Emma Navarro at No. 10. The women are so strong on the American side.”

Pegula’s match followed the men’s debut Sunday night in Ashe, with 19-year-old Learner Tien holding his own against four-time U.S. Open champ Djokovic. The Serbian tennis great secured the Round 1 victory 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Day two of U.S. Open coverage begins Monday at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN.

Click here for more on the U.S. Open schedule and how to watch at home.