It was anarchy beneath the Royal Box as Alexander Bublik – a Kazakh who has Eminem lyrics tattooed along his right arm and who constantly looked as though he was about to break into a grin – chipped in some underarm serves in a five-set thriller against Andrey Rublev.

At the other extreme, when facing a first match point, Bublik sent down a 135mph overarm second serve, which John McEnroe thought must have been some kind of record.

But the greatest, most memorable shot of this pulsating fourth round encounter, which took him to a third match point that he then converted, was Rublev's, the No.7 seed producing a diving forehand winner in response to Bublik's ripped backhand down the line.

"It was probably the luckiest shot ever. I don't think I could do that again," Rublev said after his 7-5, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-7(5), 6-4 win.

This was a match of high drama, high stakes and high comedy – because it's both shocking and screamingly funny to see someone hitting underarm serves on Centre Court.

It takes some nerve to go for an underarm serve at your local club, when no one's watching. More still on an outside court at Wimbledon.

But it's something else to select that shot when you're playing on Centre Court, the grandest stage of all, with the possibility of reaching the quarter-finals at the All England Club for the first time.

But while Bublik's underarm serves brought mischief and fun, he couldn't stop Rublev. In addition to dealing with Bublik's irreverence, Rublev was also in some pain from an injury to his finger sustained while diving across the grass in the first set. Bublik was being his usual unpredictable self; Rublev kept his focus to make the last eight here for the first time.

Perhaps you've seen the video of Bublik obliterating three rackets inside 30 seconds at a tournament in Montpellier in February. That was angry Bublik and this was playful Bublik. Instead of laying waste to his rackets, he was snapping convention in two on Centre Court.

It wasn't just the underarm serves; there was also the moment when Bublik stood several metres inside the baseline to return serve. Or the time when it seemed as though he had given up on a point, only to then come to life again and flick a backhand pass beyond his surprised opponent. And has anyone ever played so many 'squash shots' on Centre Court?

With his body art – he also has a tattoo of a skeleton holding a tennis ball – and a support on his left leg which from a distance made it appear as though he was wearing one knee-high and one ankle-length sock, Bublik didn't exactly look like a member of the tennis orthodoxy.

But that's just appropriate for a man with a reputation for trickery, who once hit six underarm serves in a single game at Wimbledon.

You'll hear countless players this Fortnight talking about the beauty and the grandeur of Centre Court. While Bublik seemingly likes the place, he wasn't going to feel constrained by a sense of awe and wonder.

There were some bad errors from Bublik on his first appearance in the last 16 of a Grand Slam, such as when he was serving at 5-6, 30-30 in the opening set and produced two double faults. But this match won't be remembered for those mistakes but for his cheek and verve.

While Bublik is capable of serving at almost 140mph, and he produced 39 aces here, hitting the ball overarm at that speed isn't half as fun as going for an underarm serve.

It wasn't until the fourth game of the second set that Bublik threw in an underarm serve for the first time. Scrambling to reach the ball, Rublev put his return into the bottom of the net.

Bublik raised his arms, asking for some love from the Centre Court crowd, which he duly received. Bublik produced another underarm serve to hold for 5-3, and once more Rublev couldn't get the ball back over the net.

Match point down at 4-5, 15-40 in the fourth set, Bublik hit that 135mph second serve. Bublik saved that match point and then a second to hold.

While Bublik was 3-5 down in the tie-break, he took the next four points to take the match into a fifth set. Bublik did everything out there but break serve with Rublev just about the better player in the decider.

It was a warm embrace at the net. Rublev went through to play the winner of Novak Djokovic's match with Hubert Hurkacz. But Bublik walked off with a smile. Even in defeat, playing tennis on Centre Court was a joy, as it should be.

New this year:

See the draw like never before, with interactive Path to the Final view of the draw by clicking a player's name on the draws page

See the projected Path to the Final of every player in the Gentlemen’s and Ladies' singles draws with IBM Likely to Play

View how favourable or difficult a player's draw is, with IBM AI Draw