Alexander Blockx's first appearance in a major quarter-final came to an unfortunate end on Wednesday at the US Open, where the Belgian retired due to injury early in the third set against Karen Khachanov.
"Today my body just gave up," Blockx said in his post-match press conference. "Two days ago [in the fourth round], I had it really difficult physically already against Francisco Cerundolo. I was on the verge of retiring, and today it just kept getting worse.
"I was still feeling my rib a lot. I was still feeling my leg. Then, in the second set today, I blocked a nerve in my back which [made it] even worse for me to move. I wasn't able to move too well already, and that made it even worse… I was just waiting until the very end, which was realistic. I didn't want to risk making anything worse than it was already."
The injury abruptly ended a breakout run for the 21-year-old, who was making his US Open main-draw debut. In New York, the Belgian stunned World No. 6 and Roland Garros finalist Flavio Cobolli in the third round before defeating Cerundolo in the fourth round.
With that victory, Blockx became the first Belgian man in history to reach the US Open last eight. The 21-year-old admitted he did not expect to go this far.
"I definitely got further than I expected before the tournament," Blockx said. "I finally understand how physical the Slams are... At the majors, you also realise how impressive it is from the top guys who win it more times in a row."
Blockx began the season ranked No. 165 and reached the Madrid semi-finals in May before climbing to No. 27 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings following his quarter-final run at the US Open. The 21-year-old leaves the tournament with valuable lessons from his first deep run at a major.
"I think what I'm taking with me is that [while] it was a really, really good experience, a really good run for me, but I always want to do better," Blockx shared. "I will definitely learn from this, improve physically, maybe figure out how we notice things quicker during the tournament if anything goes wrong.
"But for me, my standard remains the same. I don't feel like a different player now. I always try to improve, and I hope I'll have many more chances like this."
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