Wimbledon, England – Ninth seed Danil Medvedev is out of another grand slam in the first round after losing to 64th place Benjamin Bonji 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
The 6-foot-6 Russian, the All-England Club semifinalist of the past two years, also finished the French Open in the first round. And that followed a second round loss at the Australian Open.
“At the moment, I’m not that worried,” said Medvedev, who ranks 9th.
It was in 2017 that Medvedev lost his last first round match of consecutive Grand Slams – his major tournament debut at Melbourne Park, followed by Roland Garros.
Medvedev lost to Paris’ Cameron Norry in five sets this year. In 2023, the Russians finished second in Roland Garos, losing in the first round.
The 2021 US Open Champion removed the frustration with his racket and slammed it to the ground after Boni made him better in the third set.
“I was surprised by his level,” Medvedev said of Bonji, who hadn’t won a match in Grass for three years. “… There wasn’t much I could do better. Every shot I played today, even the good shots, he had the answer. Today he barely missed it. When you’re on fire, everything goes in.
“No matter what I did in court, it didn’t bother him much. Everything he did was tough for me to play. I fought. I tried.”
Audiences were able to grab a handful of items between umbrellas, hats, newspapers and other matching items to get rest from the sun and roasting conditions, but players got a 10-minute break at the end of the third set, with Wimbledon’s heat rule being enacted when the temperature exceeded 90 degrees.
However, it was rare to revive Medvedev. Because he quickly fell behind 2-0 in the fourth set and couldn’t recover.
“This is something special for me today,” Bongji told the crowd. “This is my first top ten win in the slams. I love this place… I had nothing to lose.
After shaking hands with Bonji, Medvedev’s rage boiled and he again inflicts another brutal abuse on his racket – this time against his courtside chair and bag.
“I am extremely disappointed with the fact that I lost,” Medvedev said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to the report.
