On Monday morning, Rafael Lenhard defeated Hsieh Chen-An on Grandstand Court at Life Time Rancho San Clemente in the final round of men’s singles qualifying.

Just over a day later, Lenhard took down No. 4 seed Ben Johns on the exact same court to advance to the Round of 32.

The No. 61 seed won 11-6, 14-12 and even overcame a 2-9 deficit in the second game to earn a career-defining victory.

The match, however, ended in controversy.

On Lenhard’s third match point, Johns hit a volley that was very close to bouncing twice before Lenhard returned it to extend the point.

No call was made by the referee, and Johns kept playing before eventually losing the point to end the match.

Johns was visibly frustrated by the no-call, but the point—and the result of the contest—stood.

“I clearly got my paddle under the ball,” Lenhard said afterwards. “That was my perspective, but things are so quick in the moment. The ref didn’t call it, so the point went on.”

Originally born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Lenhard played collegiate tennis at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo and is now pursuing a full-time pickleball career.

“I thought [pickleball] was a second chance for me to live out my dream and be a pro athlete,” he shared. “And for the last year and a half, I’ve been working super hard every day on and off the court. It’s paying off, finally.”

Lenhard will face either Zane Navratil or Tyler Loong on Wednesday.