US Open photographer at centre of Daniil Medvedev meltdown breaks silence

The photographer who has had his accreditation for the US Open stripped after he sparked a furious outburst from Daniil Medvedev has broken his silence over the incident

The photographer at the centre of Daniil Medvedev’s furious tirade at the US Open says he is a “victim” who has “suffered greatly” due to the incident. Medvedev took aim at umpire Greg Allensworth during his defeat to Benjamin Bonzi after the photographer walked onto the court.

The incident occurred as Bonzi was serving for victory in the third set, with Allensworth telling the photographer to “get off the court”. Bonzi was given another first serve as a result and Medvedev was not happy with the decision.

Medvedev ran over to umpire to complain and was also seen smashing his racket. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) have since stripped the photographer of his accreditation and he was escorted out of the Louis Armstrong Stadium by security.

The photographer in question, Selcuk Acar, has now insisted that he is “totally innocent” and is planning to take legal action over his credentials being revoked. Acar claims that an official told him to step onto the court while the action was ongoing.

“I’m a victim and totally innocent,” Acar told the Daily Mail. “This incident has already turned into a lynching, and although I’m innocent, I’ve suffered greatly.

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“If there’s a camera there, if it’s monitored, it will show that I returned to the official twice and didn’t enter. I didn’t know and see if Medvedev saw me. I’m not a photojournalist that can [make] such a mistake.”

Medvedev went on to lose the match 6-3 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 0-6 6-4 and 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.”

As he confronted Allensworth, Medvedev said: “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. What did Reilly Opelka say?”

Medvedev appeared to be referencing previous comments by Opelka, who was critical of Allensworth after the pair had a run-in at the Dallas Open. “We were talking about him in the locker room, all the players,” Opelka said in February.

“It really is a coincidence about two days ago [we were talking about the worst umpire on the tour and he] is the worst one. Allensworth is real bad, he almost changed the outcome of that match, just because he doesn’t really know what he is doing.”

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