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The photographer at the centre of Daniil Medvedev's furious outburst at the US Open claims he is a "victim" who has "endured tremendous suffering" following the controversy. Medvedev launched into umpire Greg Allensworth during his loss to Benjamin Bonzi after the snapper wandered onto the court.

The drama unfolded as Bonzi was serving to clinch victory in the third set, with Allensworth ordering the photographer to "get off the court". Bonzi was awarded another first serve as a consequence and Medvedev was livid with the ruling.

Medvedev stormed over to the umpire to protest before smashing his racket

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) have subsequently revoked the photographer's accreditation and he was marched out of the Louis Armstrong Stadium by security.

The photographer concerned, Selcuk Acar, has now maintained that he is "completely innocent" and is preparing to pursue legal action over his credentials being withdrawn.

Acar alleges that an official instructed him to step onto the court whilst play was in progress.

"I'm a victim and totally innocent," Acar told the Daily Mail.

"This incident has already turned into a lynching, and although I'm innocent, I've suffered greatly.

"If there's a camera there, if it's monitored, it will show that I returned to the official twice and didn't enter. I didn't know and see if Medvedev saw me. I'm not a photojournalist that can [make] such a mistake."

Medvedev, after losing the match 6-3 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 0-6 6-4, commented: "I just expressed my emotions, my unhappiness with the decision, and then the crowd did what they did without me asking them too much. It was fun to witness."

In a heated confrontation with Allensworth, Medvedev questioned: "Are you a man? Are you a man? Why are you shaking? What's wrong, huh? Guys, he wants to leave. He gets paid by the match not by the hour. What did Reilly Opelka say?"

It seemed that Medvedev was alluding to previous remarks made by Opelka, who had criticised Allensworth following a disagreement at the Dallas Open. Opelka had said in February: "We were talking about him in the locker room, all the players.

"It really is a coincidence about two days ago [we were talking about the worst umpire on the tour and he] is the worst one. Allensworth is real bad, he almost changed the outcome of that match, just because he doesn't really know what he is doing."