Daniil Medvedev may have been ousted in the first round of the US Open, but he certainly left a lasting impression at Flushing Meadows. The ex-world No. 1 clashed with the umpire and then played up to the jeering crowd during an odd interruption in his match against Benjamin Bonzi.

After his defeat, Medvedev smashed a racket and sat on his bench looking downcast. He was slapped with a fine just over $43k for unsportsmanlike behavior and racket abuse.

The Russian is now regrouping and has since enlisted a new coaching team. Ahead of his Shanghai Masters run, he candidly discussed his US Open meltdown and explained his frustration.

During the tumultuous match, Bonzi had a match point on his serve in the third set. After missing his first serve and being given a second, a photographer unexpectedly entered the court.

Chair umpire Greg Allensworth called a let and announced that Bonzi would get his first serve back. Medvedev exploded, storming to the chair and shouting at the umpire. The spectators inside the stadium began heckling and booing, and the delay lasted for over six minutes before Bonzi finally got to serve.

But the Russian found a second wind. He broke back and won the next two sets to force a decider. Bonzi held on, winning 6-3 7-5 6-7 0-6 6-4, and Medvedev demolished his racket before exiting the court. World No. 18, Medvedev, is now reflecting on his past errors.

At the recent China Open, he assured a supervisor that he was striving to be “good” following his US Open antics. Medvedev has now candidly revealed what triggered his outburst in New York a few weeks ago. “It was just a little bit of desperation,” Medvedev confessed about his racket smash, in an interview with the ATP.

“And at the same time I was like, ‘The fans are probably going to love it’. There was actually one racket left in the bag and I didn’t know it. I was for sure disappointed with the result, disappointed with the way I felt on the court, with the way I acted on the court.

“I wanted to let out the frustration, probably not on the court, but I was cramping so I couldn’t stand up. It was for sure an act of desperation and a sign I needed a new start.”

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Medvedev did give himself a fresh start. He ended his nearly decade-long partnership with coach Gilles Cervara and is now training under Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke.

The former US Open champion added: “It was not an easy decision. But at the same time, I’m 29 years old, almost 30 soon, and [I wanted] to try something new in my adult career.

“Because even when we started with Gilles, I was too young, so it was with my parents a bit. The academy where I was going was designing [my team]… To do it by myself was something nice because it was something new in my life.”

The recent collaboration is already yielding results, with Medvedev making it to the semi-finals of last week’s China Open, defeating Alexander Zverev along the way, before bowing out against Learner Tien due to severe cramps.

Now, Medvedev is setting his sights on the Shanghai Masters, a tournament he has previously won. The 16th seed will square off against qualifier Dalibor Svrcina in his first match.