The photographer at the centre of Daniil Medvedev's furious tirade at the US Open has spoken out, insisting he is a 'victim' who has 'suffered greatly' due to the incident. Selcuk Acar had his accreditation revoked and was escorted from Louis Armstrong Stadium after walking onto the court during Medvedev's defeat to Benjamin Bonzi.
The incident occurred as Bonzi was serving for victory in the third set. Umpire Greg Allensworth ordered Acar off the court, and Bonzi was given another first serve, sparking Medvedev's anger. The Russian ran over to confront Allensworth, smashing his racket in frustration. He later criticised the umpire, asking repeated questions including 'Are you a man? Are you a man? Why are you shaking?'
Acar claims an official told him to step onto the court and that he is 'totally innocent'. He is planning legal action over the revocation of his credentials. 'I'm a victim and totally innocent,' Acar told the Daily Mail. 'If there's a camera there, if it's monitored, it will show that I returned to the official twice and didn't enter.'
Medvedev went on to lose the match 6-3 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 0-6 6-4. He said afterwards: 'I just expressed my emotions, my unhappiness with the decision, and then the crowd did what they did without me asking them too much. It was fun to witness.' The Russian also referenced previous criticism of Allensworth by Reilly Opelka, who had called him the 'worst umpire on the tour'.
