Daniil Medvedev stunned in Wimbledon first round by unseeded Benjamin Bonzi – The New York Times

Daniil Medvedev’s torrid Grand Slam form continued with a first-round defeat at Wimbledon, as the former world No. 1 crashed out following a first-round defeat to Benjamin Bonzi.
It’s Medvedev’s third consecutive major defeat against an unseeded opponent. Learner Tien of the U.S. knocked the 29-year-old Russian out of the Australian Open in the second round, then Britain’s Cameron Norrie beat Medvedev at the French Open. An unseeded opponent again proved the 2021 US Open champion’s undoing at the All England Club, with Bonzi recovering from a second-set blip to claim the match 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 in the searing London heat.
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It is just Bonzi’s second win against top-10 opposition, following his victory over Casper Ruud en route to the ATP 250 Moselle Open title last year. For Medvedev, it is another crushing blow. He reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year, but just 12 months later, his credentials as one of the world’s best are slipping further and further away.
“This is special for me today,” Bonzi said on court.
“This is my first top-10 win in a Slam, it’s always special in this tournament, the atmosphere, the colours, the green grass, and everything, I love this place.
“Daniil is a great player, he did two semi-finals, I knew it was a tough match but sometimes it’s better to play this kind of player in the first round, anything can happen, so I’m very happy with the win.
“Today it’s 50/50 at the beginning of the match, the grass is perfect, I love to play on this surface. You have nothing to lose, so it’s a good time to play my A game.”
Medvedev came into the first-round clash off the back of a strong run in Halle, where he was eventually beaten by Alexander Bublik in the final. There was ultimately very little to separate him and Bonzi in the early exchanges on No. 2 Court at SW19. After trading holds all the way to a tiebreak, the Frenchman sealed the opener with a five-point cushion.
World No. 9 Medvedev snapped back by taking the second set in quick time, needing just one break behind his serve, which can be devastating when it is firing. But Bonzi stole another tiebreak to move 2-1 ahead, which gave him license to play his most dominant tennis of the match. He moved Medvedev from side to side and front to back, giving him little opportunity to dictate from the baseline.  Bonzi appeared almost nonchalant as he held to 15 for the match, holding his arms out wide, giving a fist pump and shaking hands with his counterpart.
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Medvedev’s defeat was followed by his 1990s compatriot Stefanos Tsitsipas retiring with a back injury when 6-3, 6-2 down to French qualifier Valentin Royer. Their two exits reaffirm the twilight of the so-called “sandwich generation,” in tennis, of which Tsitsipas and Medvedev are two of the leading members. After coming up against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, they have run into Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who have reconfigured the sport into something they cannot keep up with.
(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

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