"Not normal" - Novak Djokovic's compatriot Hamad Medjedovic slams online 'hate' directed at him in strongly-worded message after Miami Open exit

Novak Djokovic's compatriot Hamad Medjedovic recently shared a passionate message condemning the online hate directed at him following his exit from the 2025 Miami Open. This year marked Medjedovic's debut at the ATP Masters 1000 hard court tournament in Florida.

Prior to his participation in the Miami Open, Medjedovic competed at the Qatar Open, where he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round. However, he had to withdraw from the tournament before his second-round match against Felix Auger-Aliassime due to a leg injury sustained during his match against the Greek.

Medjedovic made his return to the court in Miami and faced Rinky Hijikata in the first round and was defeated 5-7, 6-3, 5-7. Following his loss, the Serb took to social media to express that playing in Miami after recovering from the injury he sustained in Doha was "one of the toughest challenges" of his career.

"Today I had one of the toughest challenges of my career. It's the first time coming from injury for me and trust me when I say it's not easy," Medjedovic captioned his Instagram story.

Novak Djokovic's compatriot then addressed the online hate he received following his loss, stating that it was unfair to face such negativity after a match. He mentioned that players dedicate their life to the sport and put in immense hard work, which should receive respect from fans.

"For me is just not normal that we receive so much hate when we lose a match, there is no one who wanted to win more than me. We all dedicate our lives to this sport and you guys should show some respect for that. See you all soon for the clay season," he added.

Screen grab of Hamad Medjedovic's Instagram story [Image Source: Instagram] (@hamadmedjedovic)

This season, Hamad Medjedovic won the 2025 Oeiras Indoors, a Challenger event, by defeating Liam Draxl in the final. He also finished as the runner-up at the 2025 Open 13 Provence, missing out on claiming the title after losing to defending champion Ugo Humbert in the final match.

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After defeating Novak Djokovic's compatriot Hamad Medjedovic at Miami Open 2025, Rinky Hijikata will face the former World No. 1 in 2R

Novak Djokovic at the 2019 Miami Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

After defeating Novak Djokovic's compatriot Hamad Medjedovic in the first round of the 2025 Miami Open, Rinky Hijikata will face the 24-time Grand Slam champion in the second round of the tournament.

This year will mark Djokovic's return to the ATP Masters 1000 hard court tournament in Florida for the first time since 2019. In that year, he defeated Bernard Tomic and Federico Delbonis in the second and third rounds before falling to Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round.

The two have only met once on the ATP Tour, during the first round of the 2025 Brisbane International where the 24-time Grand Slam champion emerged victorious with a score of 6-3, 6-3.

The winner of the second-round match between the former World No. 1 and Hijikata will advance to face either 32nd seed Alex Michelsen or lucky loser Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the third round.