2021 champion Daniil Medvedev’s grand slam season came to an ugly end in New York, as he lost a contentious up-and-down five-set match to Benjamin Bonzi of France. In a contest that turned bad-blooded and included a frenzied crowd responding to Medevdev’s antics as he reacted furiously to a call that went against him, the Russian star got carried away as he forced a 6+ minute delay while playing up the American crowd’s reaction.
As a result of this notorious moment which has now gone viral and caught plenty of attention from across the sports world, the Russian former world number one is set to receive a fine of USD 42,000 – an amount which docks his total earnings of US 110,000 from his first round appearance at the Open by over a third.
A 30,000 dollar fine will be levied for unsportsmanlike conduct on behalf of the Russian player, who beyond just riling up a raucous late-night crowd in Flushing Meadows also got in trouble for saying about chair umpire Greg Allensworth: “He wants to go home, guys. He doesn’t like to be here. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”
This quote followed after Allensworth awarded Bonzi a chance to take another first serve on match point in the third set, after a photographer had wandered onto court after the original first serve didn’t make it over the net. Medvedev’s argument and subsequent interactions with the crowd delayed the match, and Bonzi couldn’t hold his serve under pressure, allowing the Russian back into it.
Racket abuse fine rubs salt into wound
An additional 12,500 dollars was also fined from Medvedev due to racket abuse, as he vented his frustrations at a later point in the match by smashing his racket again and again into his chair, breaking it in the process.
The former number one had expected this heavy fine, saying in his press conference after the match: “I’m getting a big enough fine, so if I speak, I’m in big trouble, so I’m not gonna speak… [Reilly Opelka] got fined big time for this so I’m gonna get a big fine too.”
Medvedev’s loss to Bonzi brings an awful year to a close for a player who has slipped out of the top 10 for the first time in over six years. Across all four slams, Medvedev could only produce one victory, getting knocked out of the first round at each of the last three slams to make it four slam losses in a row.
It is a disappointing and incredibly abrupt fall from grace for a player who enjoyed his second-best year in terms of slam performance in 2024, dropping from a strong 18-4 record to an abysmal 1-4 in 2025.
Bonzi recovered against Medvedev to seal that match in the fifth set despite being bageled in the fourth. He also had a dramatic second-round match, as he came back from 2-0 down to rally and win against Marcos Giron. He will now face countryman Arthur Rinderknech in round 3.
