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In the end, Daniil Medvedev was simply playing the character many of his fans have grown to love over the years -- hot-tempered and rage-filled during another disappointing performance in a major tournament.

Medvedev taunted Benjamin Bonzi several times during Sunday night's US Open first-round match, but it wasn't until a photographer walked onto the court on match point in the third set that the battle officially went off the rails at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Bonzi upset Medvedev (6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4) in a thriller despite a disruption that lasted nearly seven minutes at the end of the third set. Bonzi was cruising toward a straight sets victory ahead 5-4 on serve before a cameraman disrupted play prior to his second serve.

This wasn't the first time Medvedev has lost his cool at the US Open. During the third round of the event in 2019, Medvedev flipped off the crowd, snatched a towel away from a ball boy and tossed his racket in the direction of an umpire.

Medvedev's history of tantrums

Earlier this year, Medvedev was fined $76,000 for camera and racket-smashing tirades during the first two rounds of the Australian Open. Fined for first-round infringement after initially breaking a camera after a five-set win, Medvedev was later docked during his second-round loss to an American qualifier after hurling his racket across the court.

At Wimbledon in 2017, Medvedev was fined after emptying his wallet and throwing coins at umpire Mariana Alves following a five-set loss to Belgium's Ruben Bemelmans. He disputed a series of controversial calls and said after the match "it was very hot out there" and couldn't remember if he'd asked for Alves' removal.

There have been other -- a bit less minor incidences -- of Medvedev becoming incensed during matches, resulting in disciplinary action from the ATP Tour.

"I just try to be myself," Medvedev told BBC Sport at Wimbledon this summer. "If some people find me interesting, I'm happy. Some people might think I'm boring, and that's OK. I don't have to be funny -- it's not an obligation. Being myself is the easiest way to be because if you try to act -- or over-act -- people will see through it and you will lose yourself."

What led to US Open outburst

The chair umpire, Greg Allensworth, gave Bonzi another first serve attempt after the cameraman was asked to get off the court, which resulted in an all-time Medvedev meltdown as he angrily charged the chair and ask for an explanation. Visibly upset at the decision, Medvedev asked the chair umpire several times, "Are you a man? Are you a man?" before continuing his tirade.

Medvedev then looked into live TV cameras and told viewers, "He wants to go home guys, he doesn't like to be here" continuing his verbal berating of the chair umpire.

"He gets paid by the match, not by the hour," Medvedev said.

Medvedev then shouted "What did Reilly Opelka say? What did Reilly Opelka say?" as he turned his back on Allensworth's chair and returned to his side of the court. The ATP Tour penalized Opelka earlier this year after calling Allensworth the "worst ump on tour."

Medvedev fired up the crowd and encouraged boos after lifting his hands to try and draw a stronger response in the ear of Allensworth. By this time, the US Open had clearly lost control of the situation and was letting one of its players on-court magnify a chaotic situation.

Bonzi was rattled by the delay and went on to lose the set and dropped the fourth set with a bagel before prevailing in the fifth.

"I mean, the rule is the rule. The guy went on the court between two serves," Bonzi said. "I mean, it's not my call to say first serve. And I think, yes, Daniil started it, and he put oil on the fire."

Medvedez expecting fine

After the match, Medvedev crushed a racket at his courtside bench and sat for several minutes, further displaying bouts of rage and unsportsmanlike conduct during an embarrassing end to another first-round loss at a grand slam.

"I'm getting big fine enough, so if I speak, I'm in big trouble, so I'm not going to speak," Medvedev said after the confrontation, via ESPN. "Everyone knows what I talked about when I said Reilly. Reilly got fined big-time for this, so I'm going to get a big fine, too."

After winning 18 total matches at various grand slams during the 2024 season, Medvedez has one victory in 2025 in majors, that coming during January's Australian Open.