Daniil Medvedev makes early exit after Wimbledon meltdown

Russia's Daniil Medvedev leaving the court following his 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 defeat by France's Benjamin Bonzi during their men's singles first round tennis match on the first day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon on June 30. PHOTO: AFP

UPDATED Jul 01, 2025, 01:25 AM

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LONDON – 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 June 30, as the ninth seed suffered a 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 loss to Benjamin Bonzi in the Wimbledon first round.

The Russian, who reached the semi-finals at the All England Club in 2024, got all hot and bothered as the Frenchman brought out what he described as his “A-game” to dispatch the 2021 US Open champion on Court Two, which felt like an oven throughout the three-hour match.

With Medvedev desperate to preserve his 100 per cent 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 No. 1.

“I was surprised by his level... there was not much I could do,” Medvedev told reporters.

“Even when I played good shots today, he had an answer.”

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 deg C.

That did little to revive Medvedev, however, as he immediately fell behind 2-0 to world No. 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, after he set up a second-round tie with Australia’s Jordan Thompson.

“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.”

Also on June 30, American 12th seed Frances Tiafoe eased past Danish Wimbledon debutant Elmer Moller 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to earn a second-round clash with Briton Cameron Norrie.

Meanwhile, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz battled to a 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory past Italian veteran Fabio Fognini, who was playing his last Wimbledon. The Spaniard will meet British qualifier Oliver Tarvet next.

In the women’s draw, top seed Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the second round, beating Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine 6-1, 7-5.

The 27-year-old Belarusian is a three-time Grand Slam champion but has never been beyond the semi-finals at the All England Club.

She is looking to ease the pain of losing in the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open in 2025, and will next face New Zealand’s Lulu Sun or Czech Marie Bouzkova.

Earlier, the biggest British assault on Wimbledon for 41 years got off to a great start when Sonay Kartal upset 20th seed and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.

British tennis is enjoying a buoyant period, and although Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu are making most of the headlines, there are 23 Britons in the men’s and women’s singles this week, the most at Wimbledon since 1984.

But two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur’s tournament lasted only 1hr 25min as the Tunisian retired in her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova.

The Bulgarian took a tight opening set on a tiebreak 7-6 (7-5) and was 2-0 ahead in the second when Jabeur, who reached the final in 2022 and 2023, decided she could not continue.

The 30-year-old former world No. 2 had looked uncomfortable in fiercely hot conditions on Court 14 and needed a long medical timeout in the first set.

Jabeur, who has slipped outside the world’s top 50, suffers from asthma and experienced breathing difficulties at the Australian Open in January.

“I wasn’t expecting not to feel good,” she said. “I have been practising pretty well the last few days but I guess these things happen.

“I’m pretty sad. It really doesn’t really help with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do even though it was a very tough season for me. I hope I can feel better and see what is going to happen.” REUTERS, AFP

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