Impressive Bellucci upsets Tsitsipas to reach last four in Rotterdam

Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci reached the semi-finals of the Rotterdam Open by winning against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 6 seed, 6-4, 6-2 at the Rotterdam Ahoy on Friday afternoon.

For the match, the victor struck 22 winners compared to 17 unforced errors, whereas the two-time Grand Slam finalist hit 16 winners contrasted with a poor 28 unforced errors.

After the win, the Italian stated:

“I checked some stats yesterday about my game (after he beat Daniil Medvedev), and the highest ranked player I had beaten was (Adrian) Mannarino – it was a big, big emotion. I played two players who have been in the top 10 for a long time, and in front of an amazing Dutch crowd today you supported me.”

Belluci was also asked about his physical feelings after reaching the semi-finals:

“The day of rest yesterday definitely helped me a lot, today I was a little bit sore, but I think I had a good energy on court, I was feeling very good. I managed to move well, so I think that I’ll be fine for the next round.”

The man-of-the-moment will next face Alex de Minaur, which looks to be another exciting challenge:

“He’s an amazing player, a solid player, who I used to watch when I wanted to put myself in the mindset that I have to grind it out a lot. So it’ll be big challenge for me, but I’m very happy to play these good, good players all in a row so I can test my mental strength and that’s definitely important for tomorrow.”

I’m very happy to play these good, good players all in a row so I can test my mental strength

Bellucci, ranked No 92, will face Australian Alex De Minaur, the No 3 seed, next.

Ahead of his victory, the Italian defeated Dutch wildcard Mees Rottgering (6-3, 6-2) and Russian Daniil Medvedev, the second seed (6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3).

Tsitsipas, ranked No 12, won against French qualifier Harold Mayot (6-1, 7-5) and edged out Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 7-5) in the previous rounds of the Rotterdam tournament.

Rotterdam ATP 500, other last eight results (Rotterdam Ahoy, hard, EUR 2.563.150, most recent results first):

• Andrey Rublev vs. Hubert Hurkacz
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Pedro Martinez Portero
• Alex De Minaur beat Daniel Altmaier (LL): 6-1, 6-4