This Just In – The heat has broken and the air feels crisp and fresh when a breeze comes through. Autumn is just under a month away, but it feels like we can see it from here.
Back to school shopping —of course—and irresistible sales on notebook paper, pencils and erasers. It’s a time of year when I always feel it’s important to acquire two pairs of shoes and a light jacket for unexpected showers.
My house these days is one without school-aged people rising just in time to race to the end of the driveway to flag down the school bus. I am left with the other August-September lifestyle adjustment: The U.S. Open Tennis Tournament.
It means late night matches that sometimes get pretty rowdy. There have been matches that started inexcusably late and extended well into the early morning hours. That’s fair to no one involved (fans, players, officials and weary commentators). The USTA promised to do better this year. Fingers crossed!
New York crowds are a unique phenomenon and this year a new complication entered the mix -the case of the wandering photographer.
This was the case of Russian player Daniil Medvedev down two sets an arriving at a match point against him. Italy was represented here by Benjamin Bonzi, who had played, up to the point, a solid match that he deserved to win.
At match point, Bonzi’s first serve went out, followed by a bizarre mistake. A freelance photographer, Selcuk Acar, came out onto the court, thinking that the match had stopped or was entirely over. He later said that the security person who allowed him onto the court told him the match was stopped and it was okay for him to go in.
Bonzi was getting ready to serve his second serve (still match point) when the umpire interrupted and ordered the photographer to get off the court. Acar quickly and sheepishly complied. The umpire, citing a rule about outside interference, awarded a “let” to the server, allowing him to gather himself and restart the point with a new first serve.
Medvedev, it’s fair to say, went nuts. He screamed at the umpire, berating his manhood and carrying on as outrageously as possible. He told the crowd (using a courtside microphone) that the umpire just wanted to go home because he’s paid by the match, not by the hour.
As the crowd began cheering for the tantrum, Medvedev continued, urging them to make so much noise that Bonzi struggled to get a quiet moment to serve. This went on for six minutes – a lifetime.
Bonzi finally served. He lost the game, then the set, then the next set as the crowd rallied for the underdog who had pulled it even, probably really rooting for more tennis more than more Medvedev.
Then Bonzi did something exceptional. In the fifth set, he won the match. Coming unglued after such a thing would be understandable, but he just continued on like a professional and won the match.
The photographer was banned from working at the remainder of the Open this year after leaving the court shortly after the incident. While security shouldn’t have directed him to go onto the court at that moment, it’s not too much to ask that he notice the players were on the court, obviously still playing.
As for Medvedev. He should have been disqualified from play on the spot for inexcusable unsportsmanlike conduct. Instead, he’ll likely be fined by the USTA. The umpire needs some more umpire training about taking control of such a situation.
If there’s an available preschool teacher who could consult with the players association about anger management, that would be great. Then there’s an assignment in DC that might be of interest.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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