What the heck just happened at the U.S. Open? Mayhem in the crowd as Medvedev melts down

They say tennis needs villains.

(It also, apparently, needs a $32 Cdn signature cocktail, but that's a thread for later on.)

Tennis, a sport of etiquette and tradition, is also known for the occasional player who brings the drama. The spice. The public meltdowns, the confrontational behaviour, the racket-smashing, crowd-dividing, "what just happened?" moments of mayhem in between rounds of smacking a ball back and forth.

On Sunday at the U.S. Open, Russia's Daniil Medvedev arguably nailed the role. And the scene in the crowd, perhaps aided by a few "honey deuce" cocktails, was pure chaos.

Full video of the Medvedev-Bonzi-umpire-photographer drama that COMPLETELY changed the match. <br><br>Gotta feel for… Benjamin. Had to stand for 6 minutes before serving on match point while the stadium turned into a circus. A mess. <a href="https://t.co/wkEz3B4K6B">pic.twitter.com/wkEz3B4K6B</a>

"He smashed rackets, insulted the umpire, incited the crowd — and of course still lost," wrote social media disinformation influencer Pekka Kallioniemi.

"Not sure who's more classless, Medvedev or the crowd. Bonzi did not deserve that," wrote another commenter. 

It's not the first time Medvedev has sparked a Flushing Meadows crowd into a rage, but it's usually directed at him.

So what, exactly, happened?

It started with a misstep.

The match between firebrand Medvedev and French rival Benjamin Bonzi descended into mayhem after a photographer entered the court on match point. Bonzi had just hit his first serve, leading 5-4 in the third set. After he missed it, a photographer left his position and began walking along the side of the court.

Chair umpire Greg Allensworth told the photographer to get off the court, then announced that Bonzi would get