Medvedev crashes out of Rotterdam with Bellucci loss

Daniil Medvedev was unable to rally to a second consecutive comeback win as he was knocked out of the Rotterdam Open by Mattia Bellucci.

Medvedev had fought back to force a decider but ran out of steam as the Italian saw him off 6-3 6-7 (8-6) 6-3 in just under three hours.

Bellucci successfully defended a break point in the opening game of the match, and soon found his footing, going toe-to-toe with Medvedev and cruising through the first set.

However, Medvedev held his serve to take the lead in the second before getting his first break in the following game to race into a 4-1 advantage. Bellucci valiantly forced a tie-break though, even having the chance to take the match, but the Russian held his nerve.

Bellucci was made to work for the win, defending six break points in the first three games of the set, but after levelling the score at 3-3, Medvedev trailed off.

After claiming the scalp, Bellucci will face either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Tallon Griekspoor, who was pushed all the way in three sets by Matteo Berrettini earlier on Wednesday.

THE BIGGEST WIN OF HIS CAREERMattia Bellucci will never forget this moment as he defeats No. 2 seed Medvedev 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals! @abnamroopen | #abnamroopen pic.twitter.com/scybqVqrKT
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 5, 2025

The home favourite dug deep in a gutsy performance to win 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 21 minutes.

Griekspoor, who won two deciding-set tie-breaks en route to the a second consecutive Rotterdam semi-final in 2024, sailed through the first set but had to fight off a set point at 5-5 in the second before struggling to stand his ground in the tie-break.

He righted that in the decider though, pulling off a stunning forehand to force an error from Berrettini and reeling off the last four points to reach the next round.

It was the Dutchman's 26th indoor win since the start of 2023, with only world number one Jannik Sinner (33) earning more on the ATP Tour since then.

Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime had to retire hurt after two sets of his match against Andrea Vavassori.

The Canadian, who won at Rotterdam in 2022, had been forced into a decider. Having won the first set with a tie-break, he lost the second with the score at 6-7 (3-7) 6-4.

However, he suddenly called for a physio at the start of the third set and was unable to continue, denying him a chance at winning a third title in 2025. Vavassori, meanwhile, will face top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the next round.