John Isner suggests what the umpire should have done during controversial cameraman incident at the US Open

Round one of the US Open saw plenty of entertaining matches, perhaps none more so than Daniil Medvedev vs Benjamin Bonzi.

Leading by two sets to love, Bonzi had a match point on his serve when a cameraman entered the court.

When Bonzi missed his serve, chair umpire Greg Allensworth claimed the cameraman disrupted the Frenchman’s serving motion, so he decided to give him another first serve.

Enraged by the call, Medvedev argued with the umpire, as the match stalled for several minutes.

Struggling to regain his composure, Bonzi was broken and remarkably dropped the next two sets to his Russian opponent.

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2021 champion Medvedev couldn’t quite get over the line, however, as Bonzi secured the win in five sets 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 0-6, 6-4.

Weighing in with their thoughts, former American ATP stars Sam Querrey, John Isner, Steve Johnson, and Jack Sock have suggested whether they believe Allensworth did the right thing.

John Isner says umpire Greg Allensworth should have ‘just let it go’

During the latest episode of ‘Something Major’, Querrey gave his verdict on the controversial incident.

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“The most exciting first-round matchup was [Daniil] Medvedev losing. I was actually calling that match; it was unbelievably entertaining,” he said.

“He did maybe cross the line. I don’t know if the fines have been given yet, but it’s probably going to be $100,000, I think that’s what it’s going to be.

“My take is [Benjamin] Bonzi started his routine on the second serve, the cameraman came in, and Greg Allensworth, the umpire, made the right decision. After that, it’s out of his control.

“He can’t get the crowd quiet, I think Allensworth made the right decision in saying, ‘first serve’.”

Querrey’s co-host, Isner, had a different opinion, as he argued the umpire should simply have ‘let it go’.

“I disagree, I think by the letter of the law he made the right call, if that’s 2-2 in the first set, yes award Bonzi a first serve, but given the situation of the match, match point on Bonzi’s serve, hear me out, Bonzi is mister cool, doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low and Medvedev is all over the place,” he said.

“He should have just let it go and not awarded him a first serve.

“Bonzi would not have complained for a first serve, I promise you that, and none of that would have happened.

“But it’s easier said than done, but once he made the decision to give him a first serve, all hell broke loose.”

Former US Open doubles champion Sock agreed with Isner, but was understanding of the difficult position the umpire was in.

“I think I agree with John [Isner] honestly, he could have avoided it potentially,” he said.

“But I also understand that once it’s all happening, a rule is a rule; if you start your motion, you get a first serve.

“Obviously, I think Medvedev carried it out extra long to help himself get some momentum with the crowd, find some motivation to climb back into the match.

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“I think it’s so hard to be a ref making the game-time decisions, I can’t fault one way or another, to be honest.”

As the hosts failed to come to an agreement, Johnson suggested the situation was not as complicated as Isner and Sock were making it seem.

“John just said ‘letter of the law, he did the right thing,’ end of discussion,” said Johnson.

It’s tough to judge whether Allensworth got the call right, although it certainly made for interesting viewing!

How much was Daniil Medvedev fined for his outburst?

On Wednesday evening, the US Open announced the extent of Medvedev’s punishment for his antics in round one.

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Losing 38% of his prize money, perhaps Medvedev will adjust his behavior for future tournaments…

The world number 13 is next scheduled to appear at the Hangzhou Open, which begins on Monday, September 15.

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