Tennis underdog trolls heckling Rome crowd after beating Brazilian wonderkid

Tennis underdog Hamad Medjedovic gave it as good as he had received it to the fans of Brazilian wonderkid João Fonseca after his victory in Rome.

Medjedovic prevailed two sets to one against Fonseca in the ATP Rome Open Masters 1000 Round of 64, after losing the first set 6-3.

The Serbian proceeded to win the following set 6-3, setting up a deciding tiebreak in the third which he went on to win by a score of 7(7)-6(1).

Medjedovic was repeatedly heckled by those in attendance, creating tension between the 22-year-old and the crowd, who appeared to be in support of his opponent.

During the match, at 6-5 to Fonseca in the third, the Serbian approached the umpire and pleaded with him to tell the crowd to quieten down.

Just before he was to serve to stay in the match, Medjedovic told the umpire: “Tell them to shut up and let me serve. I’ll play.”

The umpire told the 22-year-old in response that the crowd noise would remain loud, despite his best efforts to control them, and that Medjedovic had no choice but to play.

Medjedovic trolls previously criticised Fonseca fanbase

After a crushing third set tiebreak victory, ending 7-1 to the Serbian, the 22-year-old raised his hands to the crowd and proceeded to mimic going to sleep, before blowing a kiss to those in attendance.

Speaking after the match, Medjedovic said: "The crowd helped me a lot. His fans helped me a lot. I think they were... I will not comment on it, but they helped me a lot.

“I think I was very, as some would say, ‘locked in’ after being down 6-5 in the third. I was just quiet and wanted to give my best and that's it. I'm really happy to be through,” the Serbian continued.

Fonseca, widely recognised as one of tennis' most exciting prospects, has accumulated a highly passionate fanbase that was defended last year by legend Boris Becker during the 2025 Miami Open.

After the Brazilian beat Learner Tien in the first round, his opponent joked that he had played at the 'Rio Open', with Fonseca's fanbase later being described as "something else" by a fan on Twitter, who advocated for their removal from the crowd.

This prompted a response from Becker, who wrote: "With all [due] respect, you['re] absolutely wrong in your opinion! Tennis needs players who attract crowds and create atmosphere like we have seen when Fonseca is playing."

Medjedovic, 67th in the ATP rankings, has enjoyed the 2026 clay court season, beating 8th-ranked Alex de Minaur last month in Barcelona before falling to 14th-ranked Andrey Rublev.

The Serbian will now take on Mariano Navone, ranked 44th, after the Argentine secured an underdog victory of his own against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in a 7-6 7-6 win.