The photographer who interrupted a US Open match Sunday night, creating chaos in the Daniil Medvedev-Benjamin Bonzi opening-round match, says he’s a victim.
Selcuk Acar, an experienced freelance journalist and photojournalist, told the Daily Mail he did nothing wrong and didn’t deserve to have his credentials revoked.
With Bonzi serving for the match in the third set, Acar stepped onto the court, and the match was paused.
Umpire Greg Allensworth gave Bonzi another first serve due to the delay, which drew the ire of the 13th-seeded Medvedev and the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd.
A 6-minute, 24-second delay ensued, and Medvedev ended up winning the third set, although Bonzi prevailed in five, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 0-6, 6-4.
“I’m a victim and totally innocent,” Acar told the website. “This incident has already turned into a lynching, and although I’m innocent, I’ve suffered greatly. If there’s a camera there, if it’s monitored, it will show that I returned to the official twice and didn’t enter.”
Acar insisted a security official told him “the match is stopped,” which is when he entered. Acar said he has covered Presidential visits to Europe and NATO summits as well as the FIFA World Cup.
“I’m not a photojournalist that can [make] such a mistake,” he said.
It was a questionable ruling by the umpire, since Bonzi had already missed his first serve.
Medvedev angrily ran up to Allensworth, protesting the call. He urged the crowd to boo, and verbally went at the umpire.
“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 the match not by the hour,” Medvedev said of the umpire as he yelled to the crowd.
Medvedev took the fourth set at love before faltering in the end.
“I have no idea. It was crazy,” Bonzi said in his on-court interview, when asked to sum up the evening. “I may have got some new fans, but also some new non-fans. The energy was wild. Thanks to all the ones who were booing. Thanks for the energy at the end in the fifth set as well. It was a crazy match.”
The Post has reached out to the USTA for comment.
