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The 23-year-old left-hander played lights out for the majority of the two-hour, 55-minute clash in the Ahoy Arena, while he showed mental resilience after recovering from squandering a match point in the second-set tie-break to eventually reach his second tour-level quarter-final. 

"I really tried to enjoy every minute of it," Bellucci said. "I tried to have fun on court and be myself as much as possible. I hit the serve and volley a bit and hit the underarm serve. I wanted to be myself and I saw him far back. I really think it is something I used to move him a little bit from there. I don't want to be disrespectful.

"I felt that I had to enjoy every moment of this match. This is a big result so I will enjoy it."

Bellucci unleashed a series of breathtaking angles that left Medvedev scrambling, while he fearlessly took the match to the third seed. Bellucci repeatedly powered the ball through Medvedev’s defences from close range, leaving the World No. 7 on the back foot at times.

Bellucci is up 16 places to No. 76 in the ATP live Rankings after sealing victory on his second match point, 57 minutes after his first. The Italian, who also reached the last eight in Atlanta in July 2024, will next play sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Medvedev earned a first-round win against Stan Wawrinka at the ATP 500 indoor hard-court event but has struggled at the start of the new season. The third seed suffered a second-round defeat to American Learner Tien at the Australian Open and was unable to hit through Bellucci during Thursday's meeting.

The 23 year-old Bellucci was aggressive on return, winning 58 per cent (23/40) of points on Medvedev’s second serve according to Infosys ATP Stats.

After failing to seal victory when match point up at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break, Bellucci continued to demonstrate great courtcraft in the decider. He pulled Medvedev around, while he fended off all six break points he faced in the third set to advance. Medvedev is the first seed to fall at this year's event.

Hubert Hurkacz advanced to the second round after Czech Jiri Lehecka retired with a left leg injury with the Polish eighth seed leading 7-5, 2-0. 

He will play the winner of fourth seed Andrey Rublev and Hungary's Fabian Marozsan.