Daniil Medevedev crashes out of Wimbledon in the first round

Bonzi, the world No. 64, scored a 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 win over ninth-seeded Medvedev on No.2 Court at the All England Club.

The fifth game of the third set was pivotal as Bonzi saved four break points before he went on to take the set on a tiebreak.

The 29-year-old Frenchman then broke Medvedev in the first and seventh games of the fourth set as he sealed a decisive victory after three hours and seven minutes.

A frustrated Medvedev smashed his rackets into his chair and bag after the match, while a comment he made about Bonzi's level during the first set tiebreak gave a window into his mindset.

"Why not play like this every day, win millions, be rich? (shrugs)...No, he (Bonzi) decides to do it once a year," Medvedev said, in French.

After the match, Medvedev declared he was not overly concerned by his performance as he echoed his earlier point about Bonzi playing above his normal standard.

"I would be very worried if not for the Halle tournament, where I played well and managed to be in the final, playing a great level," the 29-year-old Russian said.

"That's why I can compare today's match to this tournament. I feel like I didn't play much worse. Court is a bit different. Tiny bit slower with the heat also. But every shot I played today, even good shots, he had an answer.

"I was supposed to play him or [Quentin] Halys in Halle. I watched the match. He couldn't play two balls in the court - not two in a row.

"Today he barely missed. A little on the forehand, the backhand I remember maybe three unforced errors. I wish him to play like this.

"I saw the draw. If he plays how he did today, he's definitely in the fourth round. Then it's [Taylor] Fritz. Then it's tougher. But I would not be surprised if he doesn't play like this."

While Medvedev hit 14 aces and won 76% of points behind his first serve, he landed only 59% of first serves and committed 12 doubles faults as he won just 43% of points on his second delivery.

It is a third disappointing early loss at a major for Medvedev this year after he was upset by Learner Tien in the second round of the Australian Open and Cameron Norrie in the first round of the French Open.

Given Medvedev reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2024, his first round exit this year will see him drop 790 points, taking his total from 3,420 to 2,630.

This loss of points has seen Medvedev slide from ninth to 14th in the Live ATP Rankings, which means he is set to hit his lowest ranking position since March 2019, when he was 15th.

It is likely Medvedev will drop even lower than 14th as players below him now have a great opportunity to make up ground if they make solid runs at Wimbledon.

For Bonzi, beating the former world No 1 and 2021 US Open champion surely ranks as the biggest win of his career.

In his on-court interview, Bonzi said: "This is special for me today. This is my first top 10 win at a Slam. Obviously, it is always special at this tournament.

"The atmosphere, all the courts and the grass, everything really. I love this place, so it's very special and Daniil is a great player. He has reached two semi-finals.

"I knew it was a tough match, but sometimes it is better to play this kind of player in the first round. Anything can happen, so I'm very happy with the win."

Bonzi will face world No 44 Jordan Thompson in the second round.

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