Daniil Medvedev was left exasperated during his US Open second-round encounter on Wednesday when a pair of birds settled on the net in the middle of a rally, prompting chair umpire Timo Janzen to order the point replayed.
The incident unfolded at Louis Armstrong Stadium with the seventh seed comfortably ahead, leading 4-1 in the second set against American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny.
Medvedev was controlling the rally when Janzen brought proceedings to a halt. The Russian reacted with visible disbelief, clutching his head before marching towards the umpire's chair.
"This is very bad," he told the official.
"This is the most ridiculous decision I've seen in my life," he fumed.
Janzen addressed the crowd to confirm his ruling: "Due to the birds, we will replay the point."
Speaking after his straight-sets victory, Medvedev elaborated on why the decision had irked him so much. His frustration centred not on the let call itself, but on how long the umpire waited before intervening.
"I saw them straight away and thought the point would stop straight away," he explained. Instead, the rally carried on for what Medvedev estimated was another 45 seconds.
"And he let it play. Like, OK, let's play. And the moment I hit the winner, he was like 'stop, stop, stop'," the Russian recounted.
The timing proved particularly galling — Medvedev had worked through the extended rally and struck what he believed was a clean winner, only for Janzen to nullify it at that precise moment. "I say, 'Why?'" he added.
Despite the avian disruption, Medvedev dispatched Gorzny with minimal difficulty, prevailing 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 in a largely one-sided contest.
The 2021 champion thundered down 14 aces and raced through the opening set in just 21 minutes, rattling off 10 winners to Gorzny's two.
"I think was quite good, good level," Medvedev reflected.
The American, competing in only his second Grand Slam main draw match, did rally in the final set. Gorzny fended off four break points in the ninth game and pushed Medvedev harder than in the earlier stages.
Medvedev, though, broke his opponent in the 11th game with a punishing forehand before closing it out with an unreturnable serve.
"He raised his level in the third, so I'm happy that I managed to keep fighting, to stay tough," the Russian said.
The bird episode added another chapter to Medvedev's colourful history at Flushing Meadows. The Russian has endured a complex relationship with the New York crowd since his memorable run as pantomime villain in 2019, when he overcame hostile spectators en route to the final before losing to Rafael Nadal.
Last year, his opening-round defeat saw him urge fans to boo the chair umpire after a photographer strayed onto the court, before smashing his racket in frustration.
"This would definitely be in the top five [unusual moments]," Medvedev told reporters of the bird incident. "It's OK. It happens."
The Russian will face either Spain's Jaume Munar or Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the third round.
"I love this court and I love you guys," he told the Armstrong Stadium crowd.
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