WASHINGTON, July 31, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)

What a week it’s been for Mattia Bellucci. The 23-year-old lefty from Busto Arsizio, Italy qualified for his first ATP Tour main draw last week at the rain-soaked Atlanta Open and reached the quarterfinals after winning two matches.

So far, nothing too unusual, right?

But wait, Bellucci’s good fortune in Atlanta ended with a three-set quarterfinal loss to France’s Arthur Rinderknech that didn’t end until nearly 1:30 a.m. local time Saturday due to rain delays.

Now, the fun begins!

Mattia Belluci’s past 24 hours 😮

Lost a 3-set battle in Atlanta which finished at 1:30am…

Hopped on a 5:30am flight to DC…

Wins his first qualifying match today and will play for a spot in the main draw tomorrow 👏#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/JH5L6gXu1w

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 27, 2024

The career-high 125th-ranked Bellucci, whose ranking shot up 21 places this week following his run in the Peachtree State, knew he needed to be in Washington, D.C., to play first-round qualifying in the ATP 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open by Saturday afternoon.

“I said, ‘I’m going to take the earliest flight to go there, and then I’ll try to sleep there’. And the earliest one was at 5:30 a.m.,” Bellucci told the ATP Tour website after arriving at Rock Creek Park. “I basically just went back to my room, I packed and we went directly to the airport. So, I didn’t sleep at all. And then we got to Washington around 8 a.m., maybe 8:30.”

Bellucci finally had a chance to eat and get a few hours of sleep after arriving in the nation’s capital city, and by late afternoon he was on court. Amazingly, Bellucci won his first qualifying match over Tristan Boyer of the United States, 7-6 (6), 6-2, an opponent he had no time to prepare for.

Forza 🔱

Mattia Bellucci digs deep to qualify for his first ATP 500 level tournament after an eventful trip from Atlanta to DC 👏#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/IHRxMkgviX

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 28, 2024

Then, on Sunday, after a proper night’s rest, Bellucci defeated Leandro Riedi of Switzerland, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (4), in two hours and 47 minutes to reach his first ATP 500 main draw. Although Bellucci wasn’t thrilled by his weekend play – and it was understandable he wouldn’t be under the circumstances – he thrived on the crowd’s support as well as pumping himself with shouts of “Come on!” It worked.

On Monday, Bellucci faced 2022 DC Open finalist Mackenzie McDonald of the United States and won 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) to advance to Wednesday’s second round against No. 15 seed Alex Michelsen, also of the United States. Bellucci and Michelsen will be the second match on Stadium Court, a nice reward for the Italian after playing his first three matches on outer courts.

Another impressive win 👏

Mattia Bellucci stays the course, defeating McDonald 7-6, 7-6 to advance to the 2nd round in DC!#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/Jiz2a8Twsh

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 29, 2024

During his post-match news conference after defeating McDonald, Bellucci said he “was not prepared at all to play three matches here, continuing playing very well after a good week in Atlanta.

Mattia Bellucci (photo: Ben Solomon/Mubadala Citi DC Open)

“I was quite surprised with my level yesterday actually because I didn’t sleep well. You guys know when you don’t sleep one night, it gets a little bit difficult also with jet lag. I mean, I tried to fight as much as I could. I think that was the most important thing I did in these three matches.

“Tomorrow, hopefully, I’m resting for the first day after a few. Let’s see how it goes in the next round.”

Looking back, Bellucci’s career has progressed nicely the last few years, climbing from the ITF Futures Circuit to the ATP Challenger Tour – where he’s won three titles – and now to the ATP Tour, where five of his seven Top 100 wins have come in the last two months.

This season, in compiling a 27-22 win-loss record in all competitions, Bellucci qualified for both the French Open and Wimbledon main draws, losing in the first round each time to an American in five sets – to Frances Tiafoe at Roland-Garros and to Ben Shelton at Wimbledon. It was an improvement over losing in the first round of qualifying of each in 2023.

🇺🇸 Frances Tiafoe wins a five-set THRILLER.

He outlasts Mattia Bellucci to advance to the second round at #RolandGarros. pic.twitter.com/Nrvl6WxUBh

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 27, 2024

In Washington, Shelton is a possible semifinal opponent, while Bellucci could only meet Tiafoe in the title match.

“I think the Grand Slam experience I’ve had in these two years has helped me a lot. I qualified for Wimbledon this year. That’s maybe the biggest stage a tennis player can have. Even if I was not prepared physically, I was mentally,” Bellucci admits.

“For me the most difficult thing sometime is to stay in the focus, stay in the rhythm of the match.”

While sometimes staying up late during the night brings important news to your life, as Bellucci learned first-hand last week, this week brings a new experience in Washington – and it’s started well.

“I’m not even used to these conditions. I’m used more to challenger tournaments,” Bellucci said. “Everything here for me is absolutely new.”