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15 Sep 2025 | 19.00
The show conducted by Daniil Medvedev at the US Open 2025 continues to generate repercussions. From the moment that photographer entered the court without permission during the match point of Benjamin Bonzi to Medvedev's call for support from the crowd and his defeat in five sets, a chain reaction unfolded. Firstly, the Russian's exit from the ATP top 10 ranking, followed by his split with Gilles Cervara, his coach of over eight years.
Furthermore, after that dramatic first-round match at the New York major, there were numerous statements from former tennis players and experts condemning the behaviors of the player who had reached the number one spot in 2021. Adding to the mix, the latest to share her opinion is a person who arguably knows the Muscovite better than anyone else. This person is his psychologist Francisca Dauzet, who, in an interview with Tennis Majors, came out in defense of the Russian.
She believes everything got mixed up
"I can say I am surprised and yet not really. Because he is not the first nor the only one to do these kinds of things. Tennis is a sport that triggers such exaggerated reactions. Daniil is somewhat accustomed to certain mood swings and yes, they can sometimes be caustic and unpleasant. His behavior annoys and also affects the public. However, I think it is important to clearly distinguish what is being discussed: the incident during the match, the racket smash, what he said to the umpire - these are not the same events. I have the impression that there has been a mix-up and everything has been placed at the same level."
She shifts focus to the audience...
"The audience feels offended by what they see, yet they love it at the same time. It makes them vibrate, entertains them, and simultaneously shocks them. It fuels the flow of comments. To answer your question 'Am I surprised?' yes, in the sense that the public knows that these kinds of situations occur in certain contexts and with specific players. And no, because the public seems to overlook, or forget, what players and professional athletes of all sports experience as internal tension, linked to multiple and different challenges for each one. It is normal that during a very long match, they express emotions of all kinds and sometimes in an exaggerated manner."
...and explains further
"What Daniil does is not very politically correct, to put it mildly. It is not accepted and perhaps not acceptable, especially because many players know how to contain and control themselves in the face of the same annoyances. Similarly, we could say the same about the part of the audience that reacts. Therefore, we see that exaggerations exist on both sides of the ‘stage’, one provoking the other and vice versa. But there is no deep malice or intent to harm when these situations occur on the part of the athletes. For players with a great mental liveliness like Daniil, what happens in that moment is both unconscious and conscious, between lack of control and controlling what arises in space-time. This interruption by the photographer on the court was, at the very least, improvised and led to an extrapolation of perceptions. This then leads to an exaggeration of reactions and perhaps creates a situation where the player can exploit the system's flaws."
She also criticizes the chief umpire
"The umpire must set the framework and rules of the match. If they assert themselves more, if they know how to curb what is overflowing, perhaps it would not escalate as far. In the footage, we can see everyone is subjected to the very strong energy that Daniil emits at that moment. Everyone seems hypnotized by what he offers with his energy. What arises from the court during a match constitutes a system in which everyone has a place and plays a role. The audience, the umpire, the players, the teams - all form a system with circulating energy. At one point, Daniil captures everyone's energy. Sometimes these things happen, but less spectacularly, so almost no one notices."
She even touches on social media
"What Daniil does is not ideal, but it is a fact of the match. Can we say about a match incident 'what he is doing is terrible, he should be institutionalized'? We suffer from this noxious pressure of social media, where everything is allowed behind the screen, behind anonymity, and where people say: ‘Daniil is this, Daniil is that’... They know almost nothing about Daniil, they only have access to a fact related to the match. What I say is not a strict defense of Daniil, but rather an invitation for everyone to be more cautious in their public interventions when they do not know what or whom they are talking about."
Bringing Moutet and Kyrgios into the equation
"When Moutet, Medvedev, or Kyrgios cause a stir, they do not do it to seek attention, they do it because they are going through difficulties. People will say to me: ‘They can work on it.’ But they do work on it, at least some of them! Simply put, their character, their genius, their way of being, which is not easy, is a limit but also a performance lever that gives meaning, substance, and spirit to their quest."
And she concludes with her final defense of Medvedev
"Most people seem unaware of how a high-level athlete lives, especially in tennis, a sport that intensifies emotions to the maximum. Everyone will have understood that this sport drives minds toward unexpected entrenchments or very familiar places," concludes Francisca Dauzet, who has tried to explain from a psychological perspective what happened in that US Open duel between Benjamin Bonzi and Daniil Medvedev.
This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La psicóloga de Medvedev, sobre lo ocurrido en el US Open: "No es el primero ni el único que hace este tipo de cosas"
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