Medvedev out in first round as Bonzi stuns former champion at Flushing Meadows
Top seeds aren’t supposed to go home on opening night, but that’s exactly what happened to Daniil Medvedev. The 2021 US Open winner, seeded No. 5 this year, was knocked out 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 by world No. 40 Benjamin Bonzi in a straight-sets upset that shook Arthur Ashe Stadium. The tennis wasn’t the only headline. A shattered racket, a code violation, and a livid exchange with the chair umpire turned a bad night into a full-blown flashpoint.
The match tipped early toward Bonzi. He read Medvedev’s patterns, punched through the baseline rallies, and kept the Russian off balance with first-strike tennis. Medvedev, who usually thrives on depth and tempo changes, spent long stretches reacting rather than dictating. When a break-back chance slipped by in the third set, the frustration finally boiled over.
Medvedev hurled his racket at the court, splintering the frame and drawing an immediate code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct from chair umpire Fergus Murphy. Spectators gasped, then murmured as the conversation between player and official turned sharp. According to those courtside, Medvedev’s remarks crossed the line and could draw further review. Tournament microphones didn’t catch every word, but the body language told the story: he was furious with himself and with the moment.
In the player box, his wife, Daria Medvedeva, buried her face in her hands and shook her head. Cameras lingered on her reaction as the crowd stirred. She later left the stadium early with the couple’s young daughter. Former pro and commentator Mark Petchey didn’t mince words on air, calling the display “appalling behavior” and saying it embarrassed the sport and, more personally, Daria, who has been a constant presence through Medvedev’s highs and lows.
Medvedev avoided a second code violation and a point penalty, but the damage — competitive and reputational — was done. Bonzi held firm, served out the win, and sealed one of the biggest victories of his career. For Medvedev, the early exit means a much smaller check than he planned: £300,000, a fraction of the £2.5 million champion’s prize. For a player of his stature, it’s not ruinous, but it underscores how thin the margins are at the Slams: miss for a night, and the financial and ranking math turns fast.
In the press room, coach Ivan Ljubicic tried to cool the temperature. He said Medvedev was “devastated” and “regrets his actions,” adding that the player felt he’d let down many people, especially his family. An ATP official, speaking on background, said the tour is reviewing the exchange with the chair and the equipment abuse — standard procedure when emotions spill over this visibly at a marquee event.
A pattern, a pressure cooker, and what comes next
This wasn’t an isolated flare. Critics have flagged a trend this season: multiple racket-smash incidents at big tournaments, and rising tension in pressure points. Medvedev has always competed at the edge — blunt in interviews, combative when he feels wronged, and fearless about showing frustration. When the tennis flows, that edge fuels him. When it doesn’t, the edge can cut the other way.
Monday night it cut deep. Bonzi refused to blink on break points, and Medvedev’s serve — usually his parachute — didn’t bail him out enough. His return numbers were below his standard, and in baseline exchanges he leaked unforced errors at key moments. The crowd, initially patient, grew restless as the scoreline slipped away. If you’ve watched him over the years, you know the signs: the pacing behind the baseline, the glare toward the box, the muttered self-talk. They were all there.
The human part is harder to miss. Daria has long been praised for her calm presence and quiet support. Seeing her visibly upset hit a nerve with fans who admire the partnership that pushed him to his 2021 title and a stretch as world No. 1. People can disagree about where the line is on-court, but when family becomes the collateral damage, sympathy thins fast.
There’s also the rules piece. Tennis doesn’t tolerate equipment abuse — not because a broken racket changes a match, but because the sport polices intent and example. Code violations for racket smashing typically carry fines, and when paired with verbal abuse or prolonged arguments with officials, the penalties can escalate. If the ATP determines his comments to the chair crossed conduct rules, the punishment could exceed the standard post-match fine. That review is underway.
Money isn’t the main pressure point here; reputation is. Medvedev’s brand is part contrarian, part chessmaster. He wins by turning rallies into puzzles and opponents into problem-solvers running out of time. Nights like this bend that image. Sponsors notice. So do tournament directors who book primetime slots. Winning papers over a lot. Not winning — and melting down while losing — starts a different conversation.
From a rankings angle, the timing hurts. Medvedev hasn’t reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal in his last three majors, an unusual run for a top-five player with a hard-court pedigree as strong as his. That’s momentum in reverse. New York has been his most comfortable big-stage venue; a first-round exit here is a confidence tax he didn’t need heading into the fall hard-court swing and the ATP Finals race.
Bonzi deserves credit for the cold-blooded part he played. He targeted corners, disrupted rhythm with variety, and served with purpose on every pressure point. That’s how upsets happen at majors — not with miracle shots, but with sustained discipline against someone who expects to outlast you. Bonzi didn’t let the occasion swallow him. He kept the rallies compact, denied Medvedev his favorite patterns, and absorbed the noise when the racket smash sucked oxygen out of the stadium.
What about solutions? The team around Medvedev knows this isn’t just a technical fix. You can tweak second-serve placement and retool patterns on slow hard courts, but if frustration spikes early, the blueprint frays. People close to the family say Daria has encouraged him to work with a sports psychologist; Ljubicic’s comments hint the door is open. Plenty of top athletes build routines that defuse pressure before it explodes — agreeing on words, breath counts, or changeover rituals that reset the mind. It’s not soft science anymore; it’s performance work.
The calendar offers both danger and opportunity. The indoor season can be kind to his flat backhand and counterpunching style. If he turns the page quickly, he can stack points and quiet the noise. If the slump hardens, the narrative will chase him from one locker room to the next. Tennis remembers what you’ve done, but it talks about what you’ve done lately.
The bigger picture is messy but clear: emotional volatility is part of the Medvedev package, and it has delivered plenty of theater and a lot of wins. The question is whether the cost is starting to outweigh the edge. On Monday, it did. A champion exited early, a racket died a loud death, a family felt the sting, and a season took on a new layer of urgency.
Key things to watch from here:
- Any ATP disciplinary decision related to the exchange with the chair and the racket smash.
- Whether Medvedev brings in sports psychology support during the indoor swing.
- How he responds tactically in early rounds at his next event — especially on break points.
- Bonzi’s follow-up performance after the biggest win of his Grand Slam career.
It’s hard to say a first-round match can reset a season, but sometimes the loudest alarms go off the earliest. Medvedev has built a career on solving problems fast. This one won’t be solved with pace or spin. It starts between points, and before the first ball.
