Alexander Blockx, a 21-year-old Belgian, reached the semifinals of the 2026 Madrid Open. He defeated several seeded players, including third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud.
Blockx’s journey to the semifinals is unprecedented for a Belgian man at this tournament. Before this event, he was ranked No. 69 in the world and had never won an ATP Tour match on clay.
Key statistics:
- Blockx won four consecutive matches against seeded players.
- He defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
- His average first serve speed was 130 mph, with a top speed of 137 mph.
- Blockx won 58% of baseline points against Ruud.
Blockx expressed surprise at his performance, stating, “I never thought I would get that far.” His success comes after good results on the ATP Challenger Tour earlier this year.
However, his run ended in the semifinals when Alexander Zverev defeated him 6-2, 7-5. Despite this loss, Blockx rose 34 places to No. 35 in the live rankings following the tournament.
Casper Ruud commented on Blockx’s skills, saying, “I found it depressing this game because he didn’t have really any weaknesses.” This reflects Blockx’s impressive performance throughout the tournament.
The next challenge for Blockx will be maintaining his momentum as he transitions back to other ATP events. Fans are eager to see if he can continue this level of play in future tournaments.