Hamad Medjedovic silenced a hostile crowd in Rome after defeating Joao Fonseca, delivering a celebration reminiscent of NBA star Stephen Curry.
Medjedovic Battles Fonseca and the Crowd
The 22-year-old Serbian, who counts Novak Djokovic as one of his idols, responded to the partisan crowd supporting Fonseca. After dropping the first set, Medjedovic fought back to win in a third-set tiebreaker.
Medjedovic stormed to the second set and took a 4-1 lead in the decider. As the match intensified, tensions rose between the players and Medjedovic and the crowd. The fans tried to rally Fonseca back into the match. Fonseca got both breaks back and saved a match point in the 10th game and was ahead 6-5 when the two players sat for the match’s final changeover.
At one point, Medjedovic told chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote to tell the crowd to be quiet so he could serve. The official responded by acknowledging it would be loud and that he was trying his best to control them, encouraging Medjedovic to keep playing.
Medjedovic then won 11 of the last 12 points to complete the 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(1) win.
Curry-Inspired Celebration
Following the handshake, Medjedovic turned to the crowd and performed a celebration popularised by Stephen Curry. He mimicked a sleeping gesture, placing his hands beside his face as if napping, before blowing kisses toward the stands.
Curry often uses the “Night, Night” taunt after putting away opponents late in games, signalling the contest is over.
‘Locked In’ Thanks to Hostile Atmosphere
Medjedovic sarcastically credited the crowd for motivating him after giving up the early lead. He said the crowd helped him get “locked in”. Djokovic has often used crowd negativity as motivation.
“It doesn’t usually happen that I get broken twice when I’m about to close the match,” Medjedovic said in an on-court interview with ATP Media. “It was not easy to go through them moments, but the crowd helped me a lot, his fans helped me a lot.”
“They were … I’ll not comment on it. But they helped me a lot,” he continued. “I think I was very, as some would say locked in after being down 6-5 in the third so I just kept quiet. Just wanted to give my best and that’s it so really happy to be through.”
Medjedovic Advances
With Felix Auger-Aliassime, Fonseca and Tomas Martin Etcheverry all losing in the second round, along with Valentin Vacherot withdrawing, there are no seeded players left in Medjedovic’s section. He is through to the third round of a Masters 1000 event for the first time.