No sleep & breaking new floor: An unforgettable weekend for Mattia Bellucci
Italian displays on whirlwind from Atlanta to Washington
July 29, 2024
Ben Solomon/Mubadala Citi DC Open
Mattia Bellucci celebrates after qualifying for an ATP 500 foremost draw for the primary time in Washington.
By Andrew Eichenholz
Mattia Bellucci will always remember the previous weekend.
It began in Atlanta, the place the 23-year-old certified for an ATP Tour occasion for the primary time and took benefit by profitable his first two tour-level matches and reaching the quarter-finals. That in itself was regular.
Then got here his quarter-final Friday night towards Arthur Rinderknech. As a result of rain, their conflict didn’t finish till almost 1:30 a.m. native time, when Rinderknech prevailed in three units. Within the early hours of Saturday morning, the Italian knew he needed to shortly journey to Washington for his first-round qualifying match on the Mubadala Citi DC Open later that day.
“I stated, ‘I will take the earliest flight to go there, after which I am going to attempt to sleep there’. And the earliest one was at 5:30 a.m,” Bellucci informed ATPTour.com. “I mainly simply went again to my room, I packed and we went on to the airport, so I did not sleep in any respect. After which we acquired to Washington round 8 a.m., possibly 8:30.”
Upon his arrival, Bellucci ate breakfast as a result of he had nonetheless not eaten. From 9 a.m. till midday, he slept.
“Then I went to the membership, I had lunch, and I hit for like half-hour, 25 minutes, simply to attempt the circumstances, which have been fully completely different from Atlanta, really,” Bellucci stated.
That didn’t cease the three-time ATP Challenger Tour titlist, who defeated Tristan Boyer 7-6(6), 6-2.
“My mindset was really to remain fully on what my angle was on courtroom, as a result of I knew that bodily talking, I used to be not feeling nice. And in addition about tennis, I could not ask a lot [of] myself since… I did not sleep in the course of the night time. So I actually tried to be as targeted as I may,” Bellucci stated. “However the starting of the match wasn’t the very best really, yesterday, went a break down at first after which managed to interrupt again.”
Bellucci was not thrilled with how he performed, however he tried to mentally stay engaged and to pump himself up with shouts of “Come on!” with out dropping an excessive amount of power.
“In any other case, I might have fallen asleep, I feel,” Bellucci stated. “When he went to the toilet, I used to be seated for 4 or 5 minutes. And I used to be not feeling nice, this was between first and second set. It was positively loopy.”
Saturday night, Bellucci tried to relaxation as a lot as attainable. On Sunday, the Italian was again at it and battled previous Leandro Riedi 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(4) in two hours and 47 minutes to qualify for his first ATP 500 occasion.
“I’m very, very pleased. And about my tennis, I really really feel that, sure, I am enjoying good. However these two matches weren’t the very best. And in addition in some matches of final week, I wasn’t fully pleased about it, in order that’s very, excellent [that I’ve been winning],” Bellucci stated. “It signifies that I can enhance quite a bit. And on the similar time, I actually really feel that I’ve many extra options than a couple of weeks in the past and some months in the past, mentally talking. So once I’m in a foul scenario, I understand how to attempt to keep targeted and methods to keep within the match.”
It has been a memorable few days for the 23-year-old, who on Monday reached a career-high No. 125 within the PIF ATP Rankings. He’ll face American Mackenzie McDonald on Monday within the first spherical of the Washington foremost draw.
“I certified for the primary time in ATP occasion, then gained the primary time my first match, then first quarter-final, and proper now certified for my first 500 occasion, so I am very, very pleased,” Bellucci stated. “I’ll clearly attempt to hold going and embracing it as a lot as I may.”
