"I didn't do anything wrong" - Daniil Medvedev refuses to take blame, calls for opponent to be fined after US Open cameraman controversy

Daniil Medvedev rued the lack of code violations that France's Benjamin Bonzi benefited from for on-court coaching during his five-set upset win over the Russian in the first round of the 2025 US Open on Sunday (August 24). The former World No. 1 got off the hook in the third set after a cameraman disrupted play as his opponent held a match point, in what marked one of the most controversial moments of the match.

Medvedev suffered his second consecutive first-round exit from a Grand Slam tournament at the hands of World No. 51 Bonzi at the US Open on Sunday. The 13th seed almost overturned a two-set deficit to come away with the victory, but it wasn't meant to be as his unseeded opponent stayed strong to eventually come through 6-3, 7-6, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4 in three hours and 46 minutes.

In his comments to the media following his first-round defeat in Flushing Meadows, Daniil Medvedev called for Benjamin Bonzi to be sanctioned for receiving on-court coaching well over the permissible limit. The 29-year-old's argument with the chair umpire over the Frenchman receiving a first serve while serving for the match in the third set, after a cameraman leaving the court led to an abrupt stoppage of play also came up.

He claimed that the likes of himself, Nick Kyrgios, Alexander Bublik, or Reilly Opelka are usually punished more heavily for being out of line than the rest of their peers, and that they wouldn't have escaped possible code violations like Bonzi did.

"I have no idea how much the punishment (fine) will be. Today I didn't do anything wrong, I hope he gets fined too because today he received a lot of coaching, to the point that one no longer knows if he is allowed or not," Daniil Medvedev said (via Punto de Break). "In the end, they always fine the same people: Kyrgios, Bublik, myself, even Opelka, who despite being a good guy, gets fined him because they don't like him."

The 2021 US Open champion fell to an unimpressive 26-18 win/loss record in 2025 with his most recent loss.

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Daniil Medvedev on being booed during US Open 1R loss: "I asked them to stop, but they didn't listen to me"

Daniil Medvedev gestures during US Open 1R match | Image Source: Getty

Right after Benjamin Bonzi was granted a first serve at match point up, Daniil Medvedev became subject to some unruly jeers from the crowd as he challenged the umpire's decision. By his own admission, the Russian tried to get the riled-up fans to settle down to no avail.

"At one point, I asked them to stop, to be silent, but they didn't listen to me," Daniil Medvedev said. "I thought maybe it would be better to control them to stop, but they didn't want to stop, so there's nothing more you can do."

The 29-year-old has since also cleared the air surrounding whether he has any grudges against the cameraman for indirectly causing pandemonium at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I wasn't upset with the photographer, not at all; I was upset with the decision," he claimed.

Medvedev will now be hopeful of a good showing during the fall indoor season of the ATP Tour. The World No. 13 is defending 610 ranking points for the rest of the year and can still make a late surge for a berth at the year-end championships in Turin later in November.