John McEnroe says what he would have done if Daniil Medvedev tried his antics against him

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Daniil Medvedev continues to be a big topic of conversation at the US Open, despite his first round exit.

Medvedev has split opinion with his behaviour at the US Open, after he was involved in conflict with the umpire following an incident where a photographer disrupted the match.

There have also been differing views on how the umpire Greg Allensworth handled Medvedev’s situation.

This latest defeat means that Medvedev has only won one Grand Slam match all year, and now John McEnroe has given his verdict on the former world number one.

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John McEnroe says what he would have done against Daniil Medvedev

The incident was only heightened in Medvedev’s match as it was on match point for Bonzi, before the umpire awarded a first serve back to the Frenchman following the disruption.

Former US Open champion Medvedev actually made a fightback from this point, before losing to Bonzi in five sets.

When discussing this incident on the Nothing Major podcast, McEnroe revealed that he would have declined the first serve if he was Bonzi, rather than let the incident drag on for the six minutes that it eventually did.

McEnroe also spoke about Medvedev’s recent form, and admitted that he is not sure if he will ever get back to his best.

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“He already has tapped out months ago,” said McEnroe. “I have been worried about his level because he doesn’t know what the hell he is doing at this point to me. For a guy that is that good on hard courts.

“This cemented it, how little confidence that he has in anything. But I was sort of hoping, I have got to admit and not at Bonzi’s expense as he showed a lot of balls to me at the end, but I was sort of hoping that Medvedev would win that.

“If I was Bonzi by the way about three minutes into the six or seven minute break I would have put up the ball and said I don’t even need a first serve. Here is the ball, second serve. I am going to win anyway. Medvedev probably would have missed the return, we wouldn’t be talking about this.

“He has got to get his act together but I am not sure he can. I think he is so lost right now I am not sure what is going to happen with him in the future. I have always liked Daniil and there is something about the US Open which brings out the best and worst of him.”

Daniil Medvedev receives higher fine than John McEnroe ever did

Medvedev was expecting a big fine after his actions at the US Open, and that has now become reality.

The 29-year-old will have to pay a $42,500 fine for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ and ‘racket abuse’, which is a greater fine than McEnroe ever received.

McEnroe’s biggest ever fine came after his actions at the 1987 US Open, where he went on a verbal tirade against the umpire and other officials.

This saw the former world number one receive a $17,500 fine, which is obviously extremely high relative to the time that the incident occurred.

However, McEnroe’s punishment was not done there, as he also received a two month suspension from playing tennis.

Medvedev will be glad to have avoided this, as he looks to put this incident behind him for the Asian swing, which he is scheduled to begin at the ATP 250 event in Hangzhou.

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