Reilly Opelka plays Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, but Daniil Medvedev has thrown the American into the spotlight before he’s even taken to the court.
Medvedev continued his appalling 2025 by crashing out to French player Benjamin Bonzi in five sets, with the match marred by controversy.
The Russian player cut a disconsolate figure after the five-set grueller, which had looked set to end with Medvedev losing in straight sets before an intervention from a rogue photographer.
Medvedev was hailed by Alexander Zverev in the build-up to the tournament but now he will go away and lick his wounds after winning just one Grand Slam match in 2025.
What happened in Daniil Medvedev’s defeat to Benjamin Bonzi
Shortly after Bonzi had served a first serve fault on match point, a photographer entered the court, seemingly believing that the French performer had won the match.
Instead of calling a second serve, Bonzi was handed another shot at a first serve, which caused Medvedev to flip his lid and lash out verbally at the chair umpire, Greg Allensworth.
A long delay clearly impacted Bonzi and he would eventually need five sets to beat Medvedev after the Russian’s rant appeared to pay dividends and buy him some time.
It’s a shame that there has been such controversy on day one of the tournament, but it’s perhaps no surprise that it involves Medvedev, given his chequered past with this sort of stuff.
One thing that Medvedev was heard screaming at Allensworth was that ‘Reilly Opelka was right’ and that has left some tennis fans wondering what on earth he meant by that comment.
We take a look…
What Reilly Opelka said about Greg Allensworth
After an incident-fuelled match against Cameron Norrie at the Dallas Open earlier this year, Opelka was quizzed on his relationship with Allensworth in his post-match interview.
Opelka came through the match in three sets, but it’s fair to say that he was far from happy with how Allensworth had called the match, suggesting he wasn’t the only player who didn’t particularly rate him.
After receiving a code violation, Opelka said: “Greg Allensworth is the worst umpire in the industry, like we’re all talking about it in the locker room, all the players, it’s not a coincidence but I said a couple of days ago that he’s the worst, and then I get him on my match.
“He almost changed the path of that match because he doesn’t know what he’s doing, he got emotional and when we were arguing, he couldn’t really give me an answer.
“He didn’t do his job telling the guy to get out when he was shouting out, so I did it for him. He was so disrespectful to me, it’s not a good look at all. I hope the ATP analyse it and maybe sidelines him for a couple of tournaments. It’s amateur hour when he’s on the court.”
Now, it remains to be seen whether any repercussions will come for Allensworth after his part in Medvedev’s latest defeat.
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