Photographer Breaks Silence After Causing Drama During Daniil Medvedev and Benjamin Bonzi’s US Open Clash: “I Am a Victim”

Daniil Medvedev crashed out of all Grand Slam tournaments this season without advancing to the third round.

Photographer Breaks Silence After Causing Drama During Daniil Medvedev and Benjamin Bonzi’s US Open Clash: “I Am a Victim”

Daniil Medvedev, photographer Selcuk Acar, Benjamin Bonzi (Image via X/ESPN Tenis, Jason Page, US Open Tennis)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Selcuk Acar, the photographer accused of causing the whole drama during the Daniil Medvedev–Benjamin Bonzi US Open first-round clash, is seeking legal advice after his credentials were revoked for the tournament. The incident happened on Sunday (August 24) when Bonzi was serving for the match.

The photographer inadvertently stepped on the court to change his position. Bonzi was not happy with the photographer’s interruption and was given another first serve by chair umpire Greg Allensworth.

Medvedev fumed at this decision and went on a rant against Allensworth, also shouting repeatedly, “What did Opelka say?“, referencing Reilly Opelka‘s “worst ump on tour” jibe at Allensworth. Medvedev also gestured to the crowd to boo loudly, which caused Bonzi to stop for six minutes to serve again.

On the back of the crowd’s support, the Russian tied the score before winning the set as well as the fourth one by bageling Bonzi. But Medvedev lost the fifth one and eventually the match. Later, he took out his frustration by destroying his racket.

Medvedev’s conduct overshadowed his third consecutive first-round defeat in this year’s Grand Slam events. And now reports have emerged that the photographer, who was also escorted by the security officials from the court, has insisted that no one but him was the victim in his case.

I’m a victim and totally innocent. This incident has already turned into a lynching, and although I’m innocent, I’ve suffered greatly.

Photographer Selcuk Acar told Daily Mail

He claimed having asked security twice whether he could enter the court and was permitted to do so.

If there’s a camera there, if it’s monitored, it will show that I returned to the official twice and didn’t enter. The official told me the match is stopped and to go on court. I didn’t know and see if Medvedev saw me.

But the USTA stated that the security instructed Acar to stay where he was, but the latter ignored it and “improperly entered the court“. USTA also said Acar didn’t mind the umpire’s warning to sit down.

Bonzi has scheduled a second-round match against home favorite Marcos Giron on Wednesday (August 27). The win over Medvedev was his third straight one after victories in the first rounds of the 2017 Roland Garros and this year’s Wimbledon.

Daniil Medvedev wasn’t upset with the photographer

At the press conference after his defeat, Daniil Medvedev said he was angry only at the umpire’s decision and not at all at the photographer’s interruption. Medvedev even wanted to create more chaos, but the rules stopped him from doing so.

Daniil Medvedev (via X/Wimbledon)
Daniil Medvedev (via X/Wimbledon)

I wasn’t upset with the photographer; it’s nothing special. The thing is, every time there’s a noise during the big events, especially between serves, then there’s never a second serve. But, well, in the end, that helped me get back into the match; it was a fun moment.

Daniil Medvedev said

The 29-year-old is clearly dealing with a massive slump in form, as since clinching his career’s first clay-court title at the 2023 Italian Open, he hasn’t yet won a title. The former World No.1, since that win, has played six finals, losing all, including in the 2023 US Open final to Novak Djokovic and last year’s Australian Open final to World No.1 Jannik Sinner.

This season, Medvedev reached just three semifinals and made it to one final- at the Halle Open, losing that match in straight sets to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik. In Majors this year, the World No.13 progressed to the second round just once (in the Australian Open). The last Grand Slam title he won was the 2021 US Open by beating the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Also read: Jannik Sinner Gives Hilarious Response to Carlos Alcaraz’s New Haircut at the US Open