John McEnroe sends Daniil Medvedev damning verdict despite ‘loving every minute’ of US Open meltdown
Tennis icon John McEnroe has admitted he “loved every minute” of Daniil Medvedev’s US Open meltdown, while he also declared that the former world No 1 “has got to get his act together.”
Medvedev‘s disappointing 2025 season continued at the US Open as he fell in five sets to Benjamin Bonzi in a chaotic and dramatic opening round encounter in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 2021 US Open champion amassed a dismal 1-4 record at the Grand Slams this year, having also fallen at the first hurdle at Wimbledon and the French Open and the second round at the Australian Open.
The Russian looked to be heading for straight-set exit when Bonzi held match point on his serve at 5-4, AD-40 in the third set. However, after Bonzi missed his first serve, mayhem ensued when a photographer entered the court before the Frenchman’s second serve.
Chair umpire Greg Allensworth awarded Bonzi another first serve due to the disruption, which enraged Medvedev, who encouraged the crowd to protest louder and even joined in with booing directed at Allensworth, leading to a six-minute delay before Bonzi served again.
Medvedev then broke back and won the set on a tiebreak before dominating the fourth set as Bonzi began to struggle physically.
The 29-year-old looked likely to seal a comeback win, but he twice blew a break advantage in the fifth set, and Bonzi remarkably prevailed after Medvedev was struck by hand cramps late in the match. A furious Medvedev destroyed his rackets and did not leave the court until midway through Bonzi’s on-court interview.
The world No 16 was fined $42,500: $30,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and $12,500 for smashing rackets against his chair.
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McEnroe made an appearance on the Nothing Major podcast to talk to former American pros John Isner, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson.
Asked by Johnson what he thought about Medvedev’s outburst, McEnroe — who is no stranger to on-court controversy — did not hold back.
“Besides loving every minute of it? Well you know, he already has tapped out, like months ago,” said the former world No 1.
“So I’ve been worried about his level ’cause he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing at this point, to me, for a guy that good on hard courts.
“So this sort of cemented it, like how little confidence he has in anything. But I was sorta hoping, I gotta admit — not at Bonzi’s expense because he showed a lot of balls at the end, to me, in the fifth set — but I was sort of hoping Medvedev would win that.
“If I was Bonzi, by the way, I would have, about three minutes into this six or seven minute break, I would have put up the ball and said: ‘I don’t even need a first serve. Here’s a ball, second serve. I’m gonna win this anyway.’ Medvedev probably would have missed the return, we wouldn’t be talking about this.
“But he (Medvedev) has 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 gonna happen with him in the future. I always liked Daniil and there’s something about the US Open that brings out the best and worst of him.”
