Daniil Medvedev and long-time coach Gilles Cervara have confirmed the end of their working relationship days after the Russian’s dramatic exit from the 2025 US Open. The split was announced in statements from both parties following a five-set defeat to Benjamin Bonzi in New York.

Medvedev’s disappointing season continued in that match, which also resulted in a $42,000 fine for his on-court behaviour. The 29-year-old argued with umpire Greg Allensworth for six minutes after the decision to re-award Bonzi a first serve when a photographer stepped onto the court. Bonzi had been holding match point on serve; Medvedev rallied to take the third and fourth sets but lost the deciding set after surrendering a lead.

The US Open defeat followed an earlier loss to Bonzi in the opening round of Wimbledon, and came after a poor run at the other majors this season. Medvedev was beaten in the opening round of the French Open by Cameron Norrie and fell in round two of the Australian Open to Learner Tien. He has not won a title since the 2023 Italian Open, has not reached a Grand Slam final since the 2024 Australian Open, and is currently down at world No 16 in the ATP Live Rankings.

The decision to part ways with Cervara ends a highly successful eight-season collaboration. Under Cervara’s guidance Medvedev lifted the 2021 US Open title, reached a further five major finals and held the world No 1 ranking in 2022. Cervara posted a lengthy message on Instagram reflecting on their time together and thanking Medvedev:

“He wrote: “Daniil. Our fantastic eight-season adventure together comes to an end. Like a symbolic wink of life, it’s after this US Open tournament that we end our collaboration.

“I am grateful and happy for all the great things and wonderful experiences we were able to experience together on the court during these eight years. It will remain etched in my memory forever.

“I thank you for placing your trust in me. I gave EVERYTHING, every second, for our shared goals. I loved training you, coaching you, supporting you (even when it was difficult), and finding solutions with you and the team to help you perform.

“I will keep in mind your unconventional magic as a player, which is your strength. It will return, I’m sure.

“I wish you all the success you aspire to as a player in the future. And a happy life as a man.

“The road continues, work and performance call to each of us…and I wish us both success.”

Cervara’s message was followed shortly by a brief message from Medvedev, also on Instagram, thanking the Frenchman for his efforts.

“Thank you Gilles,” said Medvedev.

“Amazing 8-10 years together, 20 titles, world number 1 but most importantly a lot of fun moments and memories that will stay with us forever.

“I am grateful to you for guiding me through all these years and let’s see what life brings us in the future.”

The announcement closes a chapter that delivered the sport’s biggest prize to Medvedev and raised questions about the next coaching appointment as he seeks to arrest a dip in form.

Alexander Zverev arrived at the US Open as one of the sport’s most accomplished players still chasing a first major. The 28-year-old Olympic champion from Tokyo 2020, a two-time ATP Finals winner, a seven-time Masters 1000 champion and holder of 24 ATP Tour titles, began the tournament ranked third in the world and one place shy of his career-high at No 2.

Yet on Saturday in New York his bid stalled in the third round. Felix Auger-Aliassime, ranked 24 places below Zverev, produced one of the best wins of his career, defeating the German 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-4. The 25-year-old Canadian had shown flashes at Slams before — a 2021 US Open semi-final is the high mark — but consistency has often been an issue. Prior to this event he had not reached a Grand Slam quarter-final since the 2022 Australian Open and had reached the second week of a major only three times in the intervening years. He also carried a 1-3 record at Flushing Meadows across the three years after 2021.

“I had a tough start, but then after, like a bit nervous to be honest, even though I’ve faced these players at these situations,” said Auger-Aliassime, post-match. “I was just a bit nervous and then once that got away, I felt good, and it’s nice because it just, it’s been a work in progress and I feel like, you know, tonight everything came together very nicely and all the things I’ve been working on have paid off tonight.”

For Zverev the loss is a setback that prolongs a stubborn Grand Slam drought. He had won six of eight previous meetings with Auger-Aliassime but looked short on confidence and tactical clarity as the match slipped away. This is his earliest US Open exit since 2018; he missed the 2022 tournament through injury. Recent Grand Slam form has been uneven: finalist at the 2024 US Open and the 2025 Australian Open, a Roland Garros quarter-final exit in 2025, followed by a first-round Wimbledon defeat and now this early New York exit.

Auger-Aliassime, the 25th seed, now moves on with a likely fourth-round clash against 15th seed Andrey Rublev. For Zverev, the search for a first major will continue into the next season.

A late finish on the men’s side forced the final scheduled match Saturday to start deep into the night, with Maria Sakkari and Beatriz Haddad Maia taking the court on Louis Armstrong Stadium at 11:28 p.m. The delay followed a near four-hour match in which Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated third-seeded Alexander Zverev in four sets.

The U.S. Open implemented a policy last year permitting the tournament referee to move any match that has not started by 11:15 p.m. to another court. A U.S. Tennis Association spokesperson said after the fourth set of Auger-Aliassime versus Zverev that Sakkari and Haddad Maia would either play on Armstrong as scheduled or be moved to another court. The spokesperson added that had Auger-Aliassime and Zverev gone into a fifth set, the Sakkari-Haddad Maia match would have been moved elsewhere.

The 11:28 p.m. start ranks as the seventh-latest opening at Flushing Meadows and occurred a year to the day after the record night-session start when Aryna Sabalenka and Ekaterina Alexandrova began at 12:07 a.m., technically on Aug. 31. The late start was not the latest for Haddad Maia; she once began a match against Bianca Andreescu at 11:38 p.m. in 2022.

Late-night scheduling at the majors remains a point of debate across the sport, with similar discussions at the French Open and Australian Open and an 11 p.m. curfew at Wimbledon. When Sakkari and Haddad Maia started on Armstrong, the final men’s match of the day, Tommy Paul versus Alexander Bublik, was only in the second set on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Earlier in the evening session on Ashe, Iga Swiatek rallied from down 5-1 in the first set to beat Anna Kalinskaya and open the night action.