An interruption from a pair of birds ruffled Daniil Medvedev’s feathers but could not disrupt the seventh seed as he eased into the US Open third round with a dominant victory over Sebastian Gorzny.
The two birds settled down on the net for a closer look at the action midway through a second-set rally, with play continuing around them for several strokes before the chair umpire called for the point to be replayed.
Medvedev, who ranked the incident among his “top five” most unusual experiences at the New York major, was visibly stunned by the decision, which came just after he thought he had won the point with a cross-court forehand.
“This is very bad,” the 2021 champion said as he remonstrated at the umpire on court.
Russia’s Medvedev is no stranger to losing his composure on court, notably receiving a fine of almost £31,500 at last year’s US Open for an extraordinary meltdown during his first-round defeat to Benjamin Bonzi.
As recently as last month’s Winston-Salem Open, where he again lost in the opening round, he spent a disconsolate change of ends questioning his future in the sport, musing “maybe I should start a career in pickleball”.
However, the 30-year-old, who had already flown through the first set in just 21 minutes, quickly brushed aside the avian interruption to complete a straightforward 6-1 6-3 7-5 win over American wildcard Gorzny, the world number 731.
“I saw [the birds] straight away,” Medvedev – who will play Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the third round – said in his on-court interview.
“I thought the point would stop straight away but it didn’t.
“Then we play for 45 seconds and the moment I hit the winner we say stop. I’m like, ‘Why? We played for 45 seconds!’.
“But it’s okay. I was not happy with the decision but it is was it is. You can’t do anything with it.
“The situation was pretty crazy but I love this court, I’m happy to win, to stay in the US Open, to stay in New York for longer.”
Gorzny was making his Grand Slam debut at the US Open, seven years after being given a 5% chance to live after being taken ill at the USTA Boys’ 16s National Championships in Michigan.
Then aged 15, Gorzny suffered a seizure in the night and was placed in an induced coma for four days.
“The doctors aren’t really sure what it was actually, but they’re guessing a mosquito bite that led to some type of brain infection: meningitis, encephalitis,” Gorzny told the ATP before the US Open.
A former Wimbledon boys’ doubles champion, Gorzny, the world number 731, earned his place in the main draw at Flushing Meadows by winning the USTA American Collegiate Player Wildcard Playoff in June.
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