Next Gen Finals, Serbia, Djokovic: “Everything you ever wanted to know about Hamad Medjedovic (but never had time to find out)
Hamad Medjedovic is a fast-rising Serbian, trying to follow in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic.Here’s everything you need to know
Medjedovic (Next Gen)
Who is Hamad Medjedovic?
Hamad Medjedovic is a tennis player from Serbia. In 2023, he won the ATP Next Gen Finals and improved his ranking from No 255 to a high of No 102 in October, 2023.
What did Medjedovic do at the 2023 ATP Next Gen Finals?
Medjedovic went unbeaten through the group stages and then won his semi-final and the final to win the ATP Next Gen Finals in Jeddah. The Serbian beat highly-rated, and highly-ranked Frenchman Arthur Fils in the final.
What did Novak Djokovic do to help Hamad Medjedovic?
Not only did Novak Djokovic act as an inspiration for Medjedovic – the younger Serb was just 10 when he met the former world No 1 for the first time – but he has also played a big role in smoothing the path for him to become a professional, paying his expenses, as his father, Eldon, explained to Sportal.
“Novak told me: ‘Edo, I am not doing this for the money! I make my money elsewhere, my role here is to help. What kind of man would I be if I would not help the kinds that deserve it, that love tennis and – on top of that – achieve good results?’ I just stand there and he adds: ‘You know what we are going to do? One day, when Hamad makes it, you are going to take someone under your wings and help in the same way.
Asked about Djokovic after his win in the Next Gen Finals, Medjedovic said: “He’s winning the big Masters, the real one I’d say, and I’m winning the Next Gen… I’m really happy to be following in his footsteps in some way.”
Who is Hamad Medjedovic’s coach?
Medjedovic is coached by the former Serbia player – and now Serbia Davis Cup captain – Victor Troicki. The pair joined forces at the start of 2023.
“Viktor was working at the Novak Centre,” Medjedovic told the ATP Tour website. “He was a head coach there and was supervising me. “He was a mentor and then at the start of 2023 he became my coach full time. He’s giving me a lot of really good advice and he’s helping me every day.”
What are the best parts of Medjedovic’s game?
Medjedovic has a big serve and huge forehand, with easy power. Talking to the ATP Tour website, he said he was “a very aggressive player on the court”. “I try to dictate that. I see myself as a good server,” he said. “I’m not going to be talking so many good things about myself, but I think I have a great serve, a great forehand, and my style of game is that I’m aggressive on the court.”
What are Medjedovic’s best Grand Slam efforts so far?
Medjedovic has played in the main draw of two Grand Slams so far. At Roland-Garros in 2023, he beat Ivan Gakhov, Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Jesper de Jong in qualifying, but lost to Marcos Giron in the first round of the main draw. He then qualified for Wimbledon, too, beating Pedro Martinez, Ricardas Berankis and Billy Harris and then took a set off Christopher O’Connell in the first round proper.
What is Medjedovic’s best run at an ATP Tour event?
While Medjedovic has mostly been playing on the Challenger Tour, he has already enjoyed success on the ATP Tour too. His breakthrough event came on clay in Gstaad in July when he qualified and then beat Zhizhen Zhang, former US Open champion Dominic Thiem and Jannik Hanfmann before losing to Pedro Cachin in the semi-finals.
Medjedovic also reached the semi-finals at the Astana Open, beating Laslo Djere, Alexander Shevchenko and Jiri Lehecka, before losing out to Sebastian Korda.
What is Hamad Medjedovic’s highest ranking to date?
Medjedovic reached a career-high ranking of No 102 in October 2023.
How much prize money has Hamad Medjedovic won?
It’s early days in his career but Hamad Medjedovic has already won $415,858 in prize money, in singles and doubles combined.
Is Hamad Mejedanovic on social media?
Yes, you can follow him on Instagram, where he had 25,000 followers as of December 3, 2023 and on X (formerly Twitter).
