Rotterdam qualifier Mattia Bellucci insists he didn't mean to be disrespectful when going for an underarm serve against Daniil Medvedev but just wanted to enjoy himself on the court and have fun.
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In the Rotterdam round-of-16, the world No. 92 registered the biggest win of his career after upsetting the 2021 US Open champion 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-3.
Although the Italian entered the match as the underdog, there wasn't really much separating him and the Russian throughout the entire match.
On a game point in the third game of the third set, Bellucci pulled off an underarm serve - went for a drop shot in the same point - before finishing it off with a successful lob.
A couple of games later, the 23-year-old earned the first break of the decider in the eighth game to open a 5-3 lead before serving out for the match in the following game.
Bellucci: It was something I used to move Medvedev a little bit
"I really tried to enjoy every minute of it. I tried to have fun on court and be myself as much as possible," the qualifier said.
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"I hit the serve and volley a bit and hit the underarm serve. I wanted to be myself and I saw him far back.
"I really think it is something I used to move him a little bit from there. I don't want to be disrespectful.
"I felt that I had to enjoy every moment of this match. This is a big result so I will enjoy it."
So far, Bellucci has won a total of four matches at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam.
Now, he has been through to just his second ATP quarterfinal.
On Friday, the Italian qualifier will battle against either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Tallon Griekspoor for a place in the Rotterdam semifinal.
