Cameron Norrie opponent hits 'unbelievable' shot Wimbledon pundit has 'never seen before'

Cameron Norrie was beaten all ends up by an 'unbelievable' return from opponent Mattia Bellucci on Friday. Wimbledon commentator Andrew Castle was blown away by the shot as he insisted he has 'never seen' a serve sent flying back from the position the Italian was in.

Bellucci was two games up in the opening set and threatening to take a three-game lead during a battle at deuce on the Brit's serve. At advantage Norrie, a serve was sent out wide to Bellucci, who incredibly threaded the needle between the wooden sidepost and the umpire's chair, allowing him to smash back a low bullet without even going over the net.

After white dust flew up to add even more drama to the shot, which landed bang on the line, Norrie used his racket to applaud. And Castle, on commentary duties for the BBC, was completely taken aback.

"Oh! I don't believe that," he shouted. "It went round the sidepost. Oh my! 103 miles an hour. That is unbelievable! I have never seen a return from there. That's exhibition stuff. Do that again."

With an uninspiring ranking of 73rd in the world, Norrie could be forgiven for taking Bellucci lightly when they walked out onto Court 1 on Friday afternoon. But the 24-year-old promptly showed that he was not there to make up the numbers as he broke serve straight away.

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A closer look at Bellucci's recent results will have highlighted the danger he poses. He came through qualifying and got to the round of 16 in Eastbourne before embarking on a strong run at the All England Club.

He battled against the wishes of the crowd to beat British hopeful Oliver Crawford in four sets in the first round, before dishing out a fairly sizable shock against Jiri Lehecki in the second, and managing it in straight sets.

Norrie dished out an upset of his own against Frances Tiafoe in round two, and the 29-year-old insists he is relishing his underdog status at this year's Championships.

"It's nice to hunt the other guys and try to get back where I was, and there's still a long way to go," he told the BBC. "I do get pretty nervous for some matches but it's important to be yourself on the court. I like to get fired up, I'm very competitive guy, and I'm just going to go and give everything."