By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) -Daniil Medvedev found the roasting conditions and a French opponent who had not won a match on grass for three years too hot to handle on Monday as the ninth seed suffered a 7-6(2) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-2 loss to Benjamin Bonzi in the Wimbledon first round.
The Russian, who reached the semi-finals at the All England Club for the last two years, got all hot and bothered as Bonzi brought out what he described as his “A-game” to dispatch the 2021 U.S. Open champion on Court Two, which felt like an oven throughout the three-hour match.
With Medvedev desperate to preserve his 100% record of reaching at least the second round at Wimbledon, he took out his frustrations on his racket, smashing it to the ground after Bonzi had got the better of him yet again in the third set.
But there was no respite for the former world number one.
“I was surprised by his level… there was not much I could do better,” Medvedev told reporters.
“Every shot that I played today, even good shots, he had an answer. Today, he barely missed. When you’re on fire, everything goes in.
“Whatever I did on the court, it was not bothering him too much. Everything he did was tough for me to play. I fought. I
tried.”
While spectators took shade under umbrellas, large-brimmed hats, newspapers and any other makeshift item they could grab to block out the burning sun, the only respite the players got was a 10-minute break at the end of the third set with Wimbledon’s heat rule coming into force as the temperature soared above 32 degrees Celsius.
That did little to revive Medvedev, however, as he immediately fell behind 2-0 to world number 64 Bonzi in the fourth set and it was a setback he could not recover from.
When the Russian netted a backhand, it brought up a first match point for Bonzi, and the Frenchman was celebrating his first win over a top-10 player at a major seconds later, after Medvedev smacked a forehand long.
“This is special for me today. This is my first top 10 win at a slam. I love this place,” a beaming Bonzi told the crowd.
“Daniil is a great player. Sometimes it’s easier to play an opponent like him in the first round as the players are not used to playing on grass early in the tournament.
“I had nothing to lose and I played my A-game.”
After shaking hands with his conqueror, Medvedev’s anger boiled over again and he gave his rackets another brutal battering — this time against his courtside chair and bag.
It has been a testing time at the slams for Medvedev this year, as he followed up a second round exit in Melbourne with first round defeats at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
The early departure from Wimbledon was particularly disappointing for Medvedev considering he had contested the Halle final just eight days ago.
“I’m for sure very disappointed about the fact that I lost,” he said.
“If I manage to play like I did in Halle, honestly even like I did today, I do feel like I can come back to top 10. It’s a matter of one result, right? I played good in Halle, I’m back in top 10. Played bad here, I’m out of top 10.”
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)
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