John McEnroe pulled no punches with his verdict on Daniil Medvedev‘s humiliating meltdown at the US Open. The former champion was dumped out in the opening round by French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi in one of the tournament’s early shocks. The result was overshadowed by Medvedev’s petulant behaviour as the match began to slip away from him.

In the third set, a photographer walked onto the court as Bonzi was preparing to serve on match point. Medvedev was left furious with the umpire’s decision to award his opponent a new first serve because of a delay caused by ‘outside interference’. He angrily confronted the official before shouting: “Guys, he wants to leave. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”

The match was delayed for around seven minutes before Bonzi finally got to serve. When he did, he double-faulted and Medvedev claimed the next two sets to force a decider. Bonzi, however, battled back to win the match and progress to the second round.

Medvedev went on to smash his racket in a furious rage and was later fined almost £31,500 by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). It means the Russian will have to forfeit about 40 per cent of the prize money he received.

McEnroe was quizzed on Medvedev’s conduct on the Nothing Major Show and described the 29-year-old as ‘lost’ while urging him to avoid embarrassing himself again in future.

“You know, he already has tapped out, like months ago,” said the American. “I’ve been worried about his level because he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing at this point for a guy that good on hard courts.

“This [meltdown] sort of cemented it, like how little confidence he has in anything. Bonzi showed a lot of balls at the end in the fifth set. I was sort of hoping Medvedev would win.

“He’s got to get his act together. I’m not sure he can. I think he’s so lost right now. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with him in the future. I always liked Daniil. There’s something about the US Open that brings out the best and worst of him.”

Medvedev has endured a forgettable year on the court, winning just one Grand Slam match at the Australian Open. He was dumped out in the opening rounds of the French Open and Wimbledon before suffering another early exit at the US Open.

Speaking after his latest defeat, Medvedev admitted that he knew a hefty fine was coming his way. He refused to give much away, explaining that he did not want to land himself in even deeper trouble.

“I have no idea how much the fine would be,” he said. “I’m getting a big enough fine so if I speak, I’m in big trouble, so I’m not going to speak.”

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