During the shift in men's tennis as the Big Three's dominance waned and two young stars emerged but failed to shine, Daniil Medvedev maintained a steady front in Grand Slams. The Russian won the 2021 US Open championship and reached five Slam finals between 2021 and 2024.

He has won once this year, and he has suffered two consecutive first-round defeats in Slams. Despite stating that he isn't "panicking" just yet, the always amusing Medvedev is going through a slump in his career, having dropped three consecutive Slam games for the first time.

The most recent one is, arguably, the most astounding. The ATP reported that Medvedev succumbed to Benjamin Bonzi in four sets on the first day of Wimbledon, which was the warmest opening day ever recorded at SW19. In the world The 64th-ranked Frenchman finished the 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 victory by almost resignedly spraying his forehand long, No. 9.

Against 38-year-old Fabio Fognini, whose outstanding performance belied his impending retirement from Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz, who was seeking his third consecutive Wimbledon title, had highs and lows on Centre Court. Before defeating the Italian with a score of 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5, 2-6, and 6-1, the Spaniard endured a scare.

Medvedev was also defeated by Bonzi in the 2017 French Open (the Russian quit after three sets), despite the fact that he had never advanced past the second round at Wimbledon. However, Medvedev was just beginning his career at that time; now, at age 29, he has advanced to become a global star. The number one slam pedigree. In addition, that was the last season in which Medvedev didn't make it past the second round of a major. He's at risk of falling back to that 2017 low now that there's only one Slam left in the year.

His Wimbledon fall is the least anticipated. In Melbourne, he met Learner Tien, a talented NextGen player who dashed his hopes for the Australian Open. Despite his French Open debut in Paris the previous month, Cameron Norrie has always had a complicated relationship with clay and Medvedev. In London and on grass, this self-proclaimed hard-court expert received enough affection.

The Russian advanced to the semifinals in 2023 and 2024, beating Jannik Sinner along the route the previous year. Medvedev had never exited the first round in his previous six appearances at the All England Club. Losing to a player who had never defeated a top 10 opponent in a Slam.

"I knew it would be a difficult game," Bonzi remarked, "but occasionally it's preferable to face this sort of player in the first round. Everything is possible.

The worst thing happened to Medvedev. Which not only prolonged his dismal performance in Slams this year, but also his general poor streak on the tour over the previous 24 months. In May 2023, Medvedev, who has 20 ATP championships under his belt, won his most recent trophy. He has since been unable to replicate the winning feeling and consistent touch, despite reaching back-to-back finals at the 2023 US Open and the 2024 Australian Open.

His win-loss record varied greatly last season, ending up at 46-21. This inconsistency has persisted into this season, which is now 23-14. A week ago, there were uplifting signs during this lull.

Medvedev reached the final for the first time since March 2024 by competing in his second grass-court event in Halle, following a quarterfinal performance in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Despite his loss to Alexander Bublik, he gained enough confidence during the week in which he also defeated the world. Alexander Zverev is ranked third.

This departure is made all the more surprising by that fact alone. Even other players found the oppressive heat to be a challenge; two-time finalist Ons Jabeur was forced to quit, second seed Alcaraz was made to fight, and eighth seed Holger Rune also lost in five sets.

In the two tiebreaks that determined the outcome, Medvedev's serve was erratic; he had 12 double faults, only 59% first serves, and 43% points on the second. Additionally, Medvedev allowed Bonzi to control the game from his racquet, and on grass, his habit of standing far behind the baseline returned to harm him.

Medvedev remarked, "First round, you play a bit worse many, many times." Maybe I could have had better shots and played better if it had been the second or third round.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, another post-Big Three hope, who has fallen even farther, will not even be able to compete in a second round. He quit at a score of 6-3, 6-2 against French qualifier Valentin Royer, who was behind him due to a back ailment.

“I’m fighting a lot of battles these days,” he stated. “Seeing myself in a situation like this is really painful...Right now, I'm simply at a loss for words.”

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