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Hamad Medjedovic had to overcome both Joao Fonseca and the raucous crowd to reach the third round of the Italian Open on Saturday night. The Serb led Fonseca by a double-break in the final set and even served for it at 5-4. But the Brazilian fans on the SuperTennis Arena loudly cheered their man on, and 27th seed Fonseca managed to force a tiebreak.

Medjedovic recovered and managed to seal a 3-6 6-3 7-6(1) comeback victory. There was some animosity between the two former Next Gen Final champions afterwards, as Fonseca barely looked at the world No. 67 when they met at the net. "An ice-cold handshake. There's no love lost there," commentator Nick Lester said.

But Medjedovic wasn't bothered. The 22-year-old stepped out into the centre of the court to celebrate his victory, staring down Fonseca's supporters and waving his arms to simmer them down. He then put his hands together and pretended to go to sleep, saying goodnight to the crowd, and to Fonseca's chances of advancing.

"A cheeky finish as well. My goodness, that's bold," Lester said of the Serb's celebration. Medjedovic also blew kisses to the fans, and some responded by shaking their fists at him, while others booed.

The world No. 67 then found a spectator who had been cheering him on, and gave them his wristband. He also went to another group of supporters by the baseline and took someone's phone to film a video with them.

There had been plenty of drama throughout the match - one fan appeared to shout out when Medjedovic had a match point at 5-4 in the final set. A game later, Fonseca voiced his frustrations when Medjedovic said something in between points and confronted the umpire, asking him to step in, to no avail.

But both men called out the fans after the match. The Serbian ace claimed they had actually spurred him on to victory, and said: "It was a rollercoaster, as you can see. I was up with the double-break, it doesn't usually happen that I get broken twice when I'm about to close the match.

"Was not easy to go through that moment, but crowd helped me a lot, his fans helped me a lot. I think they were... I'll 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. So I was just quiet, I wanted to give my best, and that's it. And I'm really happy to be through."

Meanwhile, Fonseca told ESPN Brazil that, although he loved feeling the support of the Brazilian crowd, it sometimes went too far. "There were too many breaks. I won't say that was the reason for the defeat, but the audience influences the matches. They not only harm my opponent but also me," the 19-year-old said.

"Sometimes they think it's a football match. I love to have their support, but there has to be a limit. This is an opportunity to keep learning and evolving. I must keep my head up and work hard."

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