Daniil Medvedev reacts next to chair umpire Greg Allensworth after a photographer ran onto the court Sunday in New York.
(Adam Hunger / Associated Press)
The rematch initially appeared as if it was going to be a quicker upset than the first time around. Bonzi won the first two sets and was up 5-4 and serving for match point in the third … when all hell broke loose.
Bonzi missed on his first serve and was preparing for his second when he was interrupted. A photographer who apparently thought the match was over had stepped onto the court and was immediately reprimanded over the loudspeaker by chair umpire Greg Allensworth.
Allensworth then announced that Bonzi would be given another chance at his first serve “because of the delay caused by an outside interference.”
The decision appears to be based on a USTA tournament regulation which states that if there is a delay between the first and second serves, “the server gets two serves if the delay was caused by the receiver or if there was outside interference.”
The announcement drew a negative response from the crowd, which Medvedev encouraged by using arm gestures. He then started berating Allensworth, seeming to ask him, “Are you a man?” more than once before leaning into the microphone behind the chair to address the crowd.
“He wants to go home, guys,” Medvedev said. “He doesn’t like to be here. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”
He also yelled, “What did Reilly Opelka say?” at least three times, in reference to the U.S. player who was fined by the ATP Tour earlier this year after referring to Allensworth as the “worst ump on tour. ”
Medvedev later told reporters that he was upset with Allensworth’s ruling because he didn’t think the photographer had caused enough of a delay to warrant a repeat first serve.
As he returned to the court, Medvedev continued to motion for the crowd to voice its displeasure. Many of the fans complied, with TV footage showing a lot of them appearing to be more amused than enraged by the situation.
After about two minutes, Allensworth asked for order so Bonzi could serve. When that didn’t work, Medvedev started motioning for the spectators to quiet down. They didn’t, and Medvedev appeared to enjoy the lengthy disruption, at one point blowing kisses toward the stands.
“I just expressed my emotions, my unhappiness with the decision,” Medvedev said later. “And then the crowd did what they did without me, without me asking them too much. And it was fun to witness.”
Bonzi appeared to be on the verge of serving several times before stopping because of the noise.
“Every time I went on the line to serve and every time I did that, everyone was booing. I felt I didn’t do anything bad in the match to, like, receive this treatment, and I didn’t want to serve in those conditions,” Bonzi said. “So I was waiting.”
After a delay of roughly six minutes, Bonzi finally served — and missed again, much to the audible delight of the crowd. He got the second serve over the net but lost the point after a lengthy volley.