Mattia Bellucci is living the dream in Rotterdam. The 92nd-ranked qualifier upset World No.7 Daniil Medvedev two days ago in Rotterdam – it was his first Top-20 win.
He has his second Top-20 win now, after taking out 12th-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas in quarterfinal action on Friday at the ABN Amro in Rotterdam, 6-4, 6-2.
The 23-year-old is already up 24 spots to No.68 in the live rankings and could go higher. He’ll face Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the semifinals on Saturday.
The Italian had to be clutch to do it. He saved all four break points he faced in the opening set and critically broke Tsitsipas for 5-4. He faced another break point while serving for the set, but held his nerve and got over the line.
“I was enjoying it, and that’s what I’ve really been trying to do every match here,” Bellucci said. “It’s working so I’ll also be doing it tomorrow.”
He was met with far less resistance from the Greek in the second set as he broke for 2-1 and again for 4-1. Tsitsipas saved a match point and held for 5-2, but Bellucci promptly served out the victory, closing his second consecutive Top-20 upset in 86 minutes.
Bellucci credits his ability to play free in the big moments for his recent success.
“I did big, big work, with my coach, really speaking about it,” he said. “He says that sometimes I was a little bit thoughtful on court, and he wanted me to be a little bit more free – I think I’m doing it pretty well and it’s working.
“I know that I’m playing against amazing opponents and every day is a big challenge because I’m still not at this level, maybe I can play two or three matches but I have to keep the energy up. But I’m definitely looking forward to any new step.”
Bellucci has already earned €128,785 by reaching the quarterfinals, in addition to his jump in the rankings. Is it a life-changing week for the Italian?
“Yes, to be honest,” he said.
“I’m still not thinking about prize money a lot because I’m very young, definitely it’s not about points, it’s going on court and thinking that I can play these matches, and feeling that I have that rhythm every day. That’s something very important for me, that’s what we look to find and what we really try to work on.”
De Minaur took out Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in Friday’s first quarterfinal, 6-1, 6-4. The 2024 Rotterdam runner up is into his 26th career ATP semifinal.
In the night session, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz will face Pedro Martinez, while Hubert Hurkacz will square off with Andrey Rublev.