Tennis underdog playfully shuts down heckling Rome crowd after beating Brazilian rising star
Tennis underdog Hamad Medjedovic put up a great fight against the fans of Brazilian rising star João Fonseca after his win in Rome.
Medjedovic won two sets to one in the ATP Rome Open Masters 1000 Round of 64, even though he lost the first set 6-3. He bounced back by winning the second set 6-3, then took the third in a tough tiebreak, 7(7)-6(1).
The Serbian player faced lots of heckling from the crowd, who clearly supported Fonseca. This made things tense, especially when the score was 6-5 in Fonseca’s favor during the third set. Medjedovic asked the umpire to ask the crowd to be quiet so he could serve. He even said, “Tell them to shut up and let me serve. I’ll play.” Sadly, the umpire explained the crowd noise would stay loud, and Medjedovic just had to keep going.
After winning the intense tiebreak 7-1, the 22-year-old raised his hands, pretended to fall asleep, and then blew a kiss to the crowd.
After the match, Medjedovic said, “The crowd actually helped me a lot. His fans helped me a lot. I won’t say more, but they helped me.” He added, “I was very focused after being down 6-5. I kept calm and gave my best. I’m really happy to win.”
Fonseca is known as one of tennis’s most exciting young players and has a very passionate fanbase. Last year, tennis legend Boris Becker defended Fonseca’s crowd during the 2025 Miami Open.
When Fonseca beat Learner Tien in the first round, Tien joked about playing at the ‘Rio Open,’ and some fans later asked on Twitter for Fonseca’s fanbase to be removed because of their energy. Becker responded, “With all respect, you’re wrong! Tennis needs players who bring crowds and atmosphere like Fonseca does.”
Medjedovic, ranked 67th, has had a good 2026 clay season. Last month in Barcelona, he beat world number 8 Alex de Minaur before losing to number 14 Andrey Rublev.
Next up, Medjedovic will face Mariano Navone, ranked 44th, after Navone pulled off his own upset by beating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6, 7-6.