Mattia Bellucci and the doubles partner you’d never expect: Nick Kyrgios

Mattia Bellucci’s grass-court season is off to a strong start: following his excellent performance at the Stuttgart tournament, where he reached the quarterfinals, the Italian has qualified for the main draw of the ATP 500 in Halle and will face Bublik on Tuesday morning. The Italian player will also compete in the doubles tournament, surprisingly partnering with Nick Kyrgios.

According to Ubitennis, it was the Australian player—who is trying to regain his form after a long layoff—who chose to team up with the Lombardy native, who made a name for himself in Stuttgart by coming very close to defeating Taylor Fritz.

The unlikely duo of Kyrgios and Bellucci will face Americans Ethan Quinn and Learner Tien. Also competing in the doubles tournament are Flavio Cobolli, who will partner with Ben Shelton, and Andrea Vavassori, who will play alongside Adam Pavlasek.

Kyrgios’s return to the tour has been one of the most talked-about topics of this early part of the grass-court season. The Australian, who underwent wrist reconstruction and four knee surgeries, made his competitive return in Stuttgart, where he defeated Corentin Moutet in the first round but then lost to Japan’s Sho in the second match.