Italian tennis player Mattia Bellucci wins Jinan Challenger, heads to Almaty
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The gist
Italian tennis player Mattia Bellucci beat Spain's Martin Landaluce in the Jinan Challenger final, then moved on to Almaty.
Bellucci has won 14 of his last 15 matches, making him one of the tour's in-form players.
Background
Mattia Bellucci is an Italian tennis player ranked No. 86, with a career-high ranking of 63; he is 25, born June 1, 2001, and plays left-handed. He is trending because of a strong run of form: he arrived at the ATP 250 in Almaty having won 14 of his last 15 matches, including qualifying rounds, and fresh from a Challenger title in Jinan.
How it unfolded
- Sep 3, 2026At the US Open second round, Taylor Fritz beat Bellucci 6-0 6-1 6-1.
- Sep 24, 2026At the AITO Hangzhou Open third round, Kamil Majchrzak beat Bellucci 6-3 6-4.
- Oct 5, 2026Bellucci beat Elias Ymer 4-6 7-5 7-6 in the Shanghai Masters qualifying first round.
- Oct 6, 2026Bellucci beat Alexandre Muller 6-4 6-2 in the Shanghai Masters qualifying final.
- Oct 7, 2026Bellucci lost to Yi Zhou 4-6 6-3 6-7 in the Shanghai Masters first round.
- Oct 18, 2026Bellucci beat Martin Landaluce 6-2 4-6 6-3 in the Jinan Challenger final, having dropped no sets before the final.
- Oct 21, 2026Bellucci was scheduled to play Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first round of the ATP 250 in Almaty, on Court 1.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Last Word On Sports predicted Bellucci, the 25-year-old Italian, looked the likelier winner against Etcheverry and called it Bellucci in three sets.
- Analysts
- Tennis.com projected a close match, with Bellucci at 52% and Etcheverry at 48%.