Fritz gives candid take on the drama that unfolded in Medvedev’s match at US Open: ‘Call ends up hurting him’

The US Open 2025 is off to a chaotic start as World No. 13 Daniil Medvedev’s match got abruptly interrupted by a photographer on Day 1 of the tournament on Sunday.

The interruption brought out an animated reaction from Medvedev, who got embroiled in a quarrel with the umpire over his call of giving Benjamin Bonzi a second go at his first serve. It was a crucial juncture of the game as Bonzi was on match point, and a replay at first serve would have increased his chances of landing a solid first serve and wrapping up the game, set, and match.

Medvedev’s protest kept the match on pause for about six minutes, and following that, the momentum shifted in the Russian’s favor. He first took the set in the tie-breaker and then imposed a bagel on Bonzi in the fourth set. However, the French tennis player found his rhythm in the fifth set and successfully eliminated Medvedev in the first round of the US Open 2025.

INSANE scenes in the Medvedev & Bonzi match at US Open

A cameraman was trying to leave after Bonzi missed his 1st serve.

The umpire gave Bonzi a 1st serve.

Daniil: “Are you a man? Are you a man? why are you shaking? What’s wrong huh? Guys he wants to leave. He gets paid by… pic.twitter.com/nzlqgoWxre

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 25, 2025

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The episode sparked an inundation of reactions. From fans to former players, many who witnessed the drama had something to say about what unfolded at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Taylor Fritz on the photographer drama

Subsequently, world No. 4 Taylor Fritz, who registered a routine 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 win over fellow American Emilio Nava in the first round of the tournament, posted a reaction on the social media platform X.

According to Fritz, the photographer’s intervention was uncalled for and it could have changed the entire result of the match.

Photographer walking on court when he’s not supposed to could’ve just changed the entire match 🤯

— Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) August 25, 2025

“Photographer walking on court when he’s not supposed to could’ve just changed the entire match,” he wrote.

In the comment section of the post, a fan asked Fritz whether the umpire’s decision to give Bonzi the first serve again was fair or not. To this, Fritz stated that it was fair, but it ended up backfiring on the Frenchman as he had to stay on match point for an extended period and was up against the crowd as well, which was heavily backing Medvedev.

Ya he should get a first but the call ends up backfiring and hurting him because of the pause, having to sit on a match point for 10 min and then the crowd getting super into it against you. Unless bonzi hits a huge first serve and gets a free point off the pause, then the whole…

— Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) August 25, 2025

“Ya he should get a first but the call ends up backfiring and hurting him because of the pause, having to sit on a match point for 10 min and then the crowd getting super into it against you. Unless bonzi hits a huge first serve and gets a free point off the pause, then the whole thing is actually really bad for him,” he added.