Daniil Medvedev's on-court meltdown leads to U.S. Open exit

The Russian then yelled into the broadcast camera before riling up the crowd, which responded with loud boos. The astounding scenes led to a five-minute halt in the match, as Bonzi refused to serve until the crowd stopped its jeering and the umpire could calm the situation.

Amazingly, the incident helped Medvedev not only save match point but win the third and fourth sets before losing in the decider, as Bonzi prevailed 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 0-6, 6-4 to advance to the second round.

The loss marked Medvedev's second consecutive loss to Bonzi at a major, following his first-round defeat to the Frenchman at Wimbledon. Medvedev has suffered early exits at all four majors in 2025 — including a first-round loss at the French Open and a second-round loss at the Australian Open.

"I'm playing bad and in important moments, even worse," Medvedev said of his horrible 2025, via ATP Tour. "Everything: serve, return, volley, whatever… I just need to play better, and I'm going to try to do it next year."

Meanwhile, Bonzi explained how he stayed calm during Medvedev's outburst and the ensuing bedlam. 

"I never experienced something like that," he said, via The Athletic. "We waited maybe five minutes before the match point. Then it was so difficult to play, so noisy all the time during the points, between the points. It was a very wild atmosphere but I tried to stay calm, to stay in the match, but it was not easy."

Bonzi will face American veteran Marcos Giron in the second round. Giron beat Argentinian Mariano Navone in his first-round match on Sunday.