‘It’s New York, not f****** Serbia!’: Furious US Open fan launches foul-mouthed attack on former top 20 player Viktor Troicki in the stands at qualifying clash after the Serbian ‘told the man to stop cheering’
- Troicki’s player Hamad Medjedovic went on to lose clash with Croat Borna Gojo
- The man in the stands was later thrown out of Court 5 at Flushing Meadows
- US Open begins on August 28 with Novak Djokovic making long-awaited return
A tennis fan launched a foul-mouthed attack on former professional tennis player Viktor Troicki whilst watching the US Open qualifying clash between Hamad Medjedovic and Borna Gojo at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday evening.
Troicki, who was ranked as high as No 12 in the world during his playing career, retired in 2021, and was supporting his player and Serbian compatriot Medjedovic when he attracted the fan’s ire.
The 2010 Kremlin Cup winner is thought to have told the man – who was rooting for Gojo – to tamp down his vocal support for the player.
But the fan was unwilling to do so, and unleashed a furious tirade against the 37-year-old that saw him forcibly restrained while doing so.
From a row behind Troicki, the man tried to shake off the supporters pinning him back, shouting: ‘Get off me, this is f****** private.’
A fan in the stands (centre, blue and orange cap) launched a foul-mouthed attack on former player Viktor Troicki (centre row below, green zip sweater) during a US Open qualifying tie
The fierce words nearly turned to blows when the fan advanced on Troicki after falling out over the noise he was making as a supporter
Troicki (pictured in 2011) coaches Hamad Medjedovic who was playing Borna Gojo on Court 5
Addressing the two-time Sydney International winner, he said: ‘If you can’t take somebody cheering against your f****** player – this is the US Open, there’s 12 million people in this f****** city. We are all f****** loud. F****** clown.
As a woman in the crowd called for tournament security on Court 5 at Flushing Meadows, he continued: ‘Get the f*** off me. This has nothing to do with drinking beer.’
For his part, Troicki kept his voice low in interactions with the fan, who continued: ‘We’re cheering, you d***.’
In a pointed interaction, he added: ‘It’s New York, not f****** Serbia.’
The crowd began to boo the man, and attempted to alert him to the fact that he was talking to a former player, with a man in the crowd calling out: ‘You’re talking to Viktor Troicki, come on man’.
As security arrived, the man identified Troicki, saying: ‘this assh*** told me to shut up’.
He later tried to justify his behaviour, saying that it was a ‘gorgeous f****** day, and it’s a free tournament’ to a fellow spectator, before he was removed from the stands.
Troicki has coached the 20-year-old Medjedovic since late 2022, but ultimately saw disappointment in New York after the Serbian No 5 was unable to turn the match around in the third set.
Troicki is close with his Serbian compatriot Novak Djokovic (pictured in 2020) who returns to the US Open after two years on the sidelines
Djokovic celebrated his first tournament win on US soil in three years with an oddly passionate celebration
Medjedovic lost to Gojo 5-7 7(7)-6 4-6 in the first round of qualifying, with the Croatian now preparing to do battle with Andrian Andreev in the second round on Thursday.
The storied grand slam will start in earnest on August 28 and mark the return of the three-time winner Novak Djokovic to Arthur Ashe Stadium after a two-year absence.
The World No 2 was barred from the United States due to their stringent Covid restrictions in 2021 and 2022, but returns to American soil looking to defeat the defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a rematch of their Wimbledon final.
Alcaraz and Djokovic have already met this hard-court season, with the Serbian taking Western and Southern Open title from the Spaniard in the final on Saturday.
