Daniil Medvedev's On-Court Chaos: Birds and Controversy
Daniil Medvedev has never needed much help creating chaos on a tennis court. This time, he got it from two small brown birds.
Birrell blown away in opening set
For Birrell, the opening act was harsh. She trailed 5-0 almost before she had a foothold in the match, overwhelmed by the Russian No.18 seed’s weight of shot and clean ball-striking.
The Australian at least avoided total humiliation. Serving at 0-5, she finally held to get on the board, dodging the spectre of a double bagel and giving herself something to cling to. Alexandrova still closed out the set 6-1, having held two set points. Birrell saved one, but the resistance ended there.
It was a small victory on a lopsided scoreboard, yet on days like this, even a single hold can feel like a lifeline.
Birds on the net, Medvedev on the edge
On another court, the surreal took over.
In the second set of his straight-sets win over American Sebastian Gorzny, Medvedev found himself arguing not about a line call, but about wildlife. Chair umpire Timo Janzen allowed a rally to continue with two birds perched brazenly on top of the net.
Medvedev unloaded on a forehand, the ball whistling past as one of the birds finally took flight. Gorzny couldn’t get the ball back. Only then did Janzen call a let and order the point to be replayed.
Medvedev snapped.
“This is the most ridiculous decisions I’ve seen in my life … this is very bad,” he told the umpire, incredulous that the point had not been stopped the moment the birds landed.
From the commentary box, Sam Querrey shared the disbelief. “That was incredible … how did they not move before? I've never seen that before in my life,” he said, before adding, “It had to be a let, surely. I just don't know why it took (Janzen) so long to call it.”
The sequence was pure Medvedev theatre: a bizarre situation, a flash of anger, and a lingering sense that the match had briefly slipped into farce.
Another entry in Medvedev’s catalogue of chaos
Asked afterward where this ranked in his long list of strange on-court moments, Medvedev did not hesitate to elevate it.
“This would be definitely in the top five,” he said.
His frustration stemmed from the timing. “When they came in, I thought, 'OK, the referee is going to stop the point', and he let it play, like, ‘OK, let’s play.’ And the moment I hit the winner, he was, like, ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!’”
For Medvedev, Louis Armstrong Stadium has history when it comes to controversy and delay. Last year he lost his first-round match there after a meltdown when the umpire allowed Benjamin Bonzi a second serve because a photographer had mistakenly entered the court too early. The argument dragged on for more than six minutes.
Go back to 2019 on the same court and the picture is even more combustible: his antics, followed by a post-match interview in which he invited the crowd to keep booing him, earned him a US$9,000 fine and cemented his reputation as one of the sport’s great lightning rods.
This time, though, the storm passed quickly. He won in straight sets, vented, then moved on.
“It’s OK,” the 2021 champion said. “It happens.”
With Medvedev, it always does. The question is never whether something wild will unfold around him — only what form it will take next.
