By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Daniil Medvedev overcame an unusual interruption from two birds to fly into the third round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday as he flattened American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny 6-1 6-3 7-5 at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 2021 champion fired off 14 aces in a lopsided affair, where a mid-match avian distraction served up an odd bit of drama. Medvedev next plays either Spain’s Jaume Munar or Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
“Being on the court, I was happy with my level,” the Russian said. “I love this court and I love you guys.”
The Russian broke his opponent from the baseline in the opening game and needed only 21 minutes to get through the first set, firing off 10 winners to just two from Gorzny, who was outmatched in only his second major main draw match.
Medvedev has kept a calm demeanour in New York – in contrast to his dramatic first-round exit last year – but had his patience tested when a pair of birds appeared on the net during a rally midway through the second set, prompting the umpire to replay the point.
“I saw them straight away and thought the point would stop straight away,” said Medvedev, who estimated that they continued to play for 45 seconds before the umpire intervened. “The moment I hit the winner we stop and I say why?”
He got over it pretty quickly, keeping the demolition job going in the third set, where he briefly sniped at the chair umpire, calling him “crazy,” during the changeover after the third game and survived a 33-shot rally in the sixth.
Gorzny improved his level in the third set, saving four break points in the ninth game, but it was too little too late as Medvedev harnessed his powerful forehand to break the American in the 11th game and sealed it with an unreturnable serve.
The bird incident joined a growing list of odd moments in Flushing Meadows for Medvedev, who has endured a love-hate relationship with the New York crowd since his memorable turn as pantomime villain in 2019.
He overcame a booing crowd to beat Spaniard Feliciano Lopez en route to the final that year, losing to Rafa Nadal in the championship match but earning the begrudging respect of the fans.
“This would be definitely in the top five (unusual moments),” Medvedev told reporters. “It’s okay. It happens.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis and Pritha Sarkar)
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