Hamad Medjedovic channels Steph Curry to silence Joao Fonseca's Rome fans

Former NextGen ATP Finals champion Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia counts Novak Djokovic as one of his idols. On Saturday in Rome, the 22-year-old delivered a response to the raucous crowd that was squarely supporting his opponent, Joao Fonseca, that was fitting of his legendary compatriot.

After dropping the first set against Fonseca, Medjedovic stormed to the second set, and took a 4-1 lead in the decider. Deep in the Rome night, things got tense—between the two players, and between Medjedovic and the crowd—as the fans tried to urge the Brazilian back into the match. Fonseca got both breaks back, saved a match point in the 10th game, and was ahead 6-5 when the two players sat for the match's final changeover.

As the score got tighter, the crowd got louder in support of Fonseca, much to Medjedovic's ire.

“Tell them to shut up and let me serve. I’ll play," Medjedovic was heard saying to chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote at one stage as he prepared to serve. The official responded: “Listen, it’s gonna be loud. There’s gonna be some people talking. I’m trying my best to control them. Keep playing. You have to play."

Play he did, and Medjedovic won 11 of the last 12 points of the 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(1) win.

After shaking hands, he turned directly toward the crowd and delivered a celebration that also went viral. He mimicked a sleeping gesture by placing his hands beside his face as if napping, before blowing kisses toward the stands.

The celebration was one made famous by another sporting legend. NBA star Stephen Curry popularized his famous "Night, Night" taunt during playoff games with the Golden State Warriors, typically using the gesture after putting away opponents late in games, signaling that the contest is effectively over.

Speaking afterward, Medjedovic sarcastically credited the crowd for motivating him and helping him get “locked in” after giving up the early lead—a remark that might've been in homage to his legendary compatriot. Djokovic has long shown an ability to weaponize hostile atmospheres, often using crowd negativity as competitive fuel.

"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.”

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 as he is through to the third round of a Masters 1000 event for the first time.