(VIDEO) Daniil Medvedev forced to replace racket in practice session after fiery outburst against Joao Fonseca in Rome

Daniil Medvedev is fighting an internal battle currently as he looks to get back to his best in a very tricky spell. The former world number one is currently competing at the Rome Open, but away from the competition it does not seem to be going well, smashing his racket in a practice session against Joao Fonseca.

His clay woes commenced right at the start where he was on the end of a horrific double bagel against Matteo Berrettini at the Monte-Carlo Masters. While the Italian was playing a brilliant match of tennis. Medvedev's form fell off a cliff. He obliterated one of his rackets enroute to not picking up a single game in a devastating match and a stark sign at where his game currently is.

In truth, the Medvedev game is a bit of a weird one, changing from tournament to tournament. A former champion in Rome, he will be hoping to find his best form once more at Foro Italia. Now he had previously banished his bizarre record of not winning a tournament in the same location, he will be dearly hoping of a step in the right direction.

That tournament was the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. He was back to his best in the Middle East, playing some incredible tennis enroute to being handed a walkover against an injured Tallon Griekspoor. It was his second title of 2026 after winning the Brisbane International. He backed this up by handing Carlos Alcaraz his first defeat of 2026 on the way to the final at Indian Wells, losing out to Jannik Sinner in a brace of tiebreaks in a closely fought final showdown.

His form has gone downhill from there. A third round defeat was culminated by that forementioned Monaco mess. He was reeled in by an impressive Flavio Cobolli in the last-16 of the Madrid Open before heading to Rome.

It does not seem all is well with the former US Open champion. Medvedev engaged in a practice session with 19-year-old talent Fonseca. He would have his serve broken in a practice set, and followed by throwing his racket to the ground. This forced him to replace it. This is not an uncommon sight for Medvedev, but the fact that it is a practice session and not the real thing is a telling sign that he is fighting some demons on court.

Similar to the Dubai final but much earlier in the tournament, Medvedev has been handed a free pathway to victory. He was supposed to kick his Rome Open campaign off with a matchup against Tomas Machac after the Czech defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round.

However, Machac has been forced to pull out of the tournament due to being unwell. The Russian will be gleaming with this news. For the fourth year on the spin, he is into the third round of the Rome Open. After clinching the title in 2023 against Holger Rune, which was subsequently the last Masters 1000 title he has won, the 30-year-old has departed in consecutive fourth rounds the prior two years.

He will be dearly hoping to improve on that. He will either take on Corentin Moutet or Pablo Llamas Ruiz in the next round in Rome.