The photographer who triggered dramatic scenes at the US Open in the game between Daniil Medvedev and Benjamin Bonzi has said he is considering legal action after his credentials were revoked for the remainder of the tournament. Selcuk Acar, a veteran freelancer who was filing for Getty images, had inexplicably walked on to the court as Bonzi was serving for the match on Monday.
Acar’s actions were deemed as interruption by the umpire Greg Allensworth who awarded Bonzi another first serve. That triggered an angry outburst from Medvedev who had a bizarre rant at the umpire, and enticed the crowd- the game was stopped for over 6 minutes.
“I’m a victim and totally innocent,” Acar told the Daily Mail. “”This incident has already turned into a lynching, and although I’m innocent, I’ve suffered greatly.”
INSANE scenes in the Medvedev & Bonzi match at US Open
A cameraman was trying to leave after Bonzi missed his 1st serve.
The umpire gave Bonzi a 1st serve.
Daniil: “Are you a man? Are you a man? why are you shaking? What’s wrong huh? Guys he wants to leave. He gets paid by… pic.twitter.com/nzlqgoWxre
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 25, 2025
Acar claimed a security official urged him to walk on the court.”I’m not a photojournalist that can make such a mistake,” he said. “’If there’s a camera there, if it’s monitored, it will show that I returned to the official twice and didn’t enter,” he is quoted by Daily Mail, who write that: ‘Acar claimed the security official told him ‘the match is stopped’ and urged him to walk onto the court, where he noticed Bonzi preparing for his second serve’. But his views aren’t accepted by the US Open authorities who in a statement said, “”The photographer had been instructed to stay in place by US Open security. The chair umpire also instructed the photographer to immediately sit down, and these instructions were also disregarded. The photographer’s credential was revoked for the 2025 US Open.”
What had transpired?
When he had walked on to the court, the chair umpire said, “First serve, ladies and gentlemen because of the delay caused by outside interference. First serve has been granted,” Allensworth announced on the microphone. Chaos ensued.
Medvedev was incensed by the call as he would have, of course, preferred to face the second serve in an attempt to save match point and stay alive. He ran to the chair umpire and started off by asking the fans to be loud. He then exchanged words with Allensworth, partly heard on the broadcast: “Are you a man? Why are you shaking? What’s wrong huh?” He then turned to the camera that was next to the umpire and started screaming: “Guys he wants to leave. He gets paid by the match not by the hour.” He then upped the decibels even more: “What did Reilly Opelka say? What did Reilly Opelka say? What did Reilly Opelka say?” as he continued to gesture to the crowd to get loud.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
