Alexander Bublik obliterated his racket during his loss to Rinky Hijikata at the Indian Wells Masters. In his third-round match in California, 10th seed Bublik had taken the first set via a tiebreak. But Hijikata rallied and after wrapping up set two with a smash, Bublik unleashed his frustrations as he blasted his racket against the court five times while the crowd simultaneously gasped, booed and cheered for his opponent.

It was not the only moment of controversy in an exciting two-hour, 35-minute match in the Coachella Valley. After regaining his composure, Bublik also brought back his contentious upside-down shot, using the handle – instead of the head – of his racket to win a point in the third game of the decisive third set.

After a forehand forced Hijikata wide, Bublik had plenty of time to think about his return as the ball looped back towards him at the centre of the court. He grabbed his racket by the head and tapped it back over the net with the grip.

He lapped up the crowd’s cheers as the commentators laughed. Hijikata eventually got the last laugh, though, by holding serve in that same game, winning the next point via an ace, and of course by winning the match.

The upside-down shot has caused controversy previously, with traditional tennis fans critical of the Kazakh for what they perceive as unnecessary mockery. He was booed when he executed the same shot in the Moselle Open final in 2022. Bublik is a playful personality who has been compared to Nick Kyrgios for his cheeky antics and tendency to lose his cool.

Hijikata is poised to return to the top 100 of the world rankings after this tournament and did not face a single break point against Bublik throughout the match as he secured his first-ever win against a top-10 player. He was previously 0-11. This is also the first time he has reached the fourth round of a Masters 1000.

Hijikata, who avenged his loss at the Phoenix Challenger last year to Bublik, reacted: “It was a bloody tough second round of a Challenger last year, and I’m glad we could play in the second week here this year.

“Obviously, he’s a quality player. He’s had a hell of a year, never easy to face so I’m just pumped to get through. It could be the first time in my life I didn’t face a break point. I’ve been working really hard with Sharky [Mark Draper], my coach, on my serve… keep applying pressure and keep holding serve.”

The Australian, from Sydney, had already beaten No.20 seed Luciano Darderi in the previous round. Hijikata will now face 27th seed and 2021 winner of this event Cameron Norrie for a place in the quarter-finals. It will be the first meeting between the pair.

British No.2 Norrie stunned Hijikata’s countryman Alex de Minaur, the sixth seed at Indian Wells, in a straight-sets victory in round three. Hijikata said: “I watched a bit of his match with Demon this morning, and I thought he was playing pretty well. He’s [Norrie] won here before, so he loves these conditions, it’s going to be a very tough one but I’m looking forward to it.”