His cheeky underarm serve which clinched victory in the second round may have divided opinion, but what is undisputable are the strides Kalin Ivanovski continues to make on behalf of his nation.

By defeating No. 8 seed Edas Butvilas of Lithuania in the third round of Wimbledon's Junior Championships, Ivanovski became the first player from North Macedonia to reach the quarter-finals of a Junior Grand Slam.

The 18-year-old, who is ranked No. 42 in the junior world rankings, held the previous record having also reached the third round here last year, although the last eight of such a prestigious tournament is uncharted territory.

“I feel incredible,” Ivanovski told itftennis.com. “Playing here at Wimbledon is a great experience. I played here last year, got to the third round and I was one round away from the quarters, but this year I have made it to the quarters and it is an amazing feeling.

“The whole place here is incredible. I am not used to it as I am from a little country – Macedonia. Coming here, playing a Grand Slam and representing my country is a big thing for me and I am really proud.

“I am also very proud to be the first from my nation to reach a Junior Grand Slam quarter-final. I love playing for and representing my country. It is a great feeling, while playing Davis Cup for North Macedonia also gives me a great boost.”

Ivanovski hit the headlines on Tuesday after concluding his match against Mexico’s Rodrigo Pacheco with an impudent serve which caught his rival completely off guard. His actions received a mixed reaction.

Juniors do it different 🤪

📹: @Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/OBdg1NWPWT

— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 5, 2022

“There were different opinions on the serve,” said Ivanovski. “I didn’t do it in a disrespectful way. I saw the score was 6-1 5-2 and 40-0 and I just went for it. The other day I was just trying it in practice and thought if I was winning, like I was, I’d try it. It turned out really well.”

Ivanovski will now compete with Pedro Rodenas after the Spaniard clinically dispatched Slovenia’s Bor Artnak, who is part of the Grand Slam Player Development Programme/ITF Touring Team, 6-1 6-2

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong will draw swords with doubles partner Michael Zheng for a place in the semi-finals after defeating Slovakia’s Peter Privara in round there. Zheng overcame fellow American Aidan Kim in three sets to take his place in the last eight.

Spain’s Martin Landaluce, meanwhile, continued his remarkable introduction to grass-court tennis with his 14th straight victory. The 16-year-old overpowered Gilles Arnaud Bailly, who finished as the runner-up at the Roland Garros Junior Championships last month, 7-6(7) 6-4.

Landaluce will now draw swords with Learner Tien of the United States, who accounted for Poland’s Martyn Pawelski, while Coratia’s Mili Poljicak remains in contention for his maiden Junior Grand Slam title after beating Sebastian Gorzny of the United States.

Poljicak faces a date with destiny against Kilian Feldbausch after the Swiss recovered from a set down to end Belgium’s Alexander Blockx’s involvement in the tournament.