(Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)

Daniil Medvedev's greatest victory came under the New York spotlight when he won the 2021 U.S. Open, the only major title of his career.

It also will be remembered as the site of one of his most talked-about defeats.

The No. 13 seed Medvedev dropped his third consecutive first-round match at a major tournament early Monday morning, with Benjamin Bonzi of France winning 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4. Bonzi also beat the Russian in the opening round of Wimbledon.

Amid the drama of a Medvedev late-nigh meltdown, a photographer had his credentials revoked for the remainder of the tournament.

Medvedev also lost to an unranked player in the second round of the Australian Open and in the opener of the French Open. But it's the U.S. Open first-round match match that will be long discussed. Bonzi was serving to win in the third set when a photographer entered the court to move along the baseline. The chair official elected to grant Bonzi a second first serve after ruling interference.

The decision from umpire Greg Allensworth sent Medvedev into a temper tantrum. Medvedev approached Allensworth, argued the call and instigated the fans to boo loudly.

Given the uproar from the crowd, which Allensworth couldn't silence, Bonzi did not serve for more than six minutes.

When he did, Medvedev came back to break Bonzi's serve, then ultimately win the third set in a tiebreaker. Riled up, he fed off the crowd, making frequent gestures toward the stands.

Medvedev raced through the fourth set against a seemingly shocked Bonzi, who regained his composure and fought off an apparent lower-body injury to come from a break down to break Medvedev twice in his final three service games for the win.

Frustrated in defeat, Medvedev sat on the bench and smashed a racket. That's after he threw about a half-dozen of them to the crowd.

Medvedev, 29, said he isn't quite sure what has happened to his game.

Ranked No. 1 in the world in February 2022, he has fallen to No. 13. His record on the season is 26-17, with winnings of just $1.8 million.

In his career, he has won 20 titles, with a record of 405-174 and earnings of nearly $47 million.

A hard-court specialist, this was supposed to be the swing where he rejuvenated his game. His best finish in 2025 was his grass-court loss in the finals in Halle before Wimbledon. He lost his first-round match on the hard courts in Cincinnati before the U.S. Open.

'I'm playing bad and in important moments, even worse. Everything. Everything. Serve, return, volley, whatever. Just need to play better, and I'm going to try to do it next year,' he said.

Medvedev has not won a tournament since 2023, when he won five titles, all on hard courts. That included victories at the ATP 1000 Masters events in Rome and Miami. He advanced to two finals in 2024, losing at the Australian Open and at the ATP Masters 1000 in Indian Wells -- both in the opening months of the season.

As for Bonzi, he called it his biggest win. Bonzi, 29, is ranked No. 51

'I'm very proud of myself, the scenario of the match, the match point in the third. Then Daniil playing great and taking full advantage in the fourth,' he said. 'It's kind of crazy, this match. For me it's like my best victory ever. It's very special to do it here.'

In the second round on Wednesday, Bonzi will meet American Marcos Giron, who defeated Mariano Navone of Argentina in five sets on Sunday.

--Field Level Media