"I suffered for him" - Benjamin Bonzi's coach Nicolas Mahut slams Danill Medvedev and Greg Allensworth after camerman debacle

Dramatic scenes overshadowed Benjamin Bonzi's five set victory against Daniil Medvedev, with a camerman wandering onto the court right as the Frenchman was on the verge of winning.

Umpire Greg Allensworth awarded an additional first serve to Bonzi, which caused the 2021 US Open champion to succumb to a fit of rage, arguing at the chair umpire for what he thought was the wrong decision. This led to the viewers at Loius Armstrong Stadium to go into chaos, booing and jeering for multiple minutes, which prevented the tie from continuing. Bonzi went on to be broken moments later, with the Russian making a comeback in the third set to get back into the match.

From having the chance to serve for the match, to being broken back after a hectic few minutes. It was a cruel situation for the 29-year-old, who was backed by his coach, Nicolas Mahut, who criticised both Medvedev for his behaviour and the chair umpire for how he handled the situation.

Speaking to L'Equipe, Mahut said: "It's an incredible turn of events. Anyway, things like this always happen at crucial moments. I think the umpire didn't necessarily handle the situation well, and I'd rather not, in the heat of the moment, talk about Daniil's behavior because I don't want to say things I might regret. But I cannot imagine for a second Alcaraz or Sinner acting this way.

He went on to reveal that Bonzi failed to take the match point after he 'tightened up' due to the halt in play, costing him the chance of seeing out the first round fixture. "As time went on, you could feel Benjamin tightening up. After that, it's very, very long," Mahut said. "There's the first part with Daniil and then the crowd—it's not Wimbledon, so it's long. When Ben plays the point, his legs stop moving. After that, he plays a very good point at 40-A but misses his volley, and then it shifts into another match.

"I suffered for him. I saw that what happened at the end of the third set left such an emotional burden that he cramped at the start of the fourth, even though physically, he's a monster. When he loses 6-0 in the fourth, and is down a break in the fifth, you start to tell yourself it's going to be very difficult. He found the resources and was extremely courageous. I think this is truly a match that will count in his career and will help him reach a new level."

Bonzi got off to an incredible start against the former number one in the world, having broken the Russian's serve late in the first and second sets to storm into a 2-0 lead. He again managed to break the serve, but Medvedev reacted better after the controversial incident and won a tight tiebreaker to get back into the tie.

It only took Medvedev 28 minutes to win the fourth set, whitewashing the Frenchman ahead of a tense fifth set. Medvedev carried on his positive form by breaking on his third opportunity, but Bonzi broke straight back with his third point. Medvedev later broke the serve, but was again pipped back by the determined Bonzi, not willing to give up without a battle. He reached his first match point since the bizarre third set and took it without any problems.

Medvedev has only managed to win one Grand Slam match this year, being knocked out in the first round of the prior three majors, and his second consecutive defeat to Bonzi in Grand Slam events. He has tumbled down to 13th in the world and has remained without a title since May 2023. On the other hand, it is a massive win for Bonzi, who seeks an opportunity to go for a deep run in New York, with American Marcos Giron his opponent in the second round.