Us Open 1st Round
US Open First Round
This year marked the first time that the US Open spread the first round over three days, and it did not disappoint. We had upsets, marathon matches, and one very unseemly moment from Daniil Medvedev on Armstrong.
The Medvedev Incident
Just before midnight on Sunday, one of the craziest scenes I’ve ever witnessed in tennis took place thanks to, of course, Daniil Medvedev. Benjamin Bonzi had match point on his serve at 5-4 in the third set, poised to beat Medvedev in the first round of back to back slams. The Frenchman missed his first serve, and then a photographer ran onto the court. An inexplicable act in itself, but what should have been a minor footnote in a relatively straightforward win for Bonzi. Because of the disturbance, chair umpire Greg Allensworth allowed Bonzi a first serve again, which is fully allowed, and frankly, at that stage in the match, just not that big of a deal.
What followed was chaos. Medvedev half ran half skipped over to Allensworth, riling up the crowd before even getting to the drama loving umpire. He then screamed into the umpire’s microphone: “He gets paid by the match not by the hour, he wants to go home.” The New York crowd, true to form, got behind the disheveled-looking Russian, chanting “Second Serve” and more for over six minutes, delaying the match while Bonzi still had match point.
It was a terrible scene. Medvedev should not only be ashamed, but in my humble opinion, should have been defaulted. The whole delay was entirely his fault, and honestly it was despicable what he did both to the umpire and his opponent, who of course still had match points. In his post-match press conference he claimed he did nothing, blaming the crowd. Does he not realize the match was televised? I watched from my New York City hotel room as he conducted the thousands in attendance for the entire stoppage. Over the course of the summer he’s completely lost control of his emotions and his tennis.
Naturally Bonzie tightened up, got broken and lost the third set. Then after tanking the fourth, Bonzi still found a way through, 6-4 in the fifth. After the defeat, Medvedev created another bizarre moment. He didn’t leave the court. After throwing half his rackets into the crowd and smashing the others, he sat on the court with a blank look until Bonzi was nearly finished with his on-court interview.
All of this is to say: the Daniil Medvedev we once knew, the lovable villain with a brilliant game, has become simply a villain. With only one Grand Slam win this year (against world number 346 Kasadit Samrej) and now falling out of the top 20 in the race, Medvedev faces an uphill battle to recover his game and his attitude. Credit must go to Benjamin Bonzi, who despite barely moving in the fourth set and looking down for much of the fifth, found a way to win. With new coach Nicolas Mahut in his box, it was a gutsy performance.
American Highlights
Putting Medvedev aside, the first round was encouraging for several Americans. Fritz, Shelton, Paul, and Tiafoe all advanced in routine fashion. Martin Damm earned his first career Grand Slam win against 17-year-old Darwin Blanch, a player with a bright future. Tristan Boyer and Eliot Spizzirri also claimed their first US Open victories, over Duckworth and Dostanic respectively.
Marcos Giron survived a five-set thriller against Mariano Navone. After leading by two sets and a break, Giron got tight but managed to close it out late at night in front of a packed Court 11 crowd, which I was blessed to be a part of. With 23 Americans in the men’s main draw, the most in recent memory, the first round delivered some surprise winners and dominant favorites.
Standout Matches
Several first-round matches stood out. The best performance I saw live came from Jerome Kym. You probably don’t know Jerome Kym, the 175th ranked player from Geneva who picked up his first tour win only a month ago, defeated Ethan Quinn, a young American with a big game and some major hype. What was largely an irrelevant match in a grand slam first round had an unbelievable level. Kym struck cleanly off both wings, served bombs, and competed with fierce intensity. He set up a second-round meeting with Nakashima, who himself won a late-night five-set tiebreak against De Jong.
Daniel Altmaier also impressed, defeating Hamad Medjedovic in over four and a half hours of high level tennis. Medjedovic has battled physical issues early in his career, and though he played well, he is now 0-6 in Grand Slam matches that extend beyond four sets. Altmaier next faces Tsitsipas, and I might have to make him my bet of the year.
The Top Seeds
Finally, the top seeds advanced without much trouble. Sinner and Alcaraz looked dominant, and in total only one set was dropped by the top five seeds. Upsets are fun, but straightforward early rounds usually lead to marquee clashes later.
