Alexander Blockx became the first Belgian man in history to reach the US Open quarter-finals on Monday, when he powered past Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to keep his dream debut run going.
The 21-year-old clubbed his way through fifth seed Flavio Cobolli to reach the fourth round at a major for the first time and backed up that win with an impressive display of grit and quality against Cerundolo, who was also chasing his maiden Slam quarter-final.
Blockx received treatment at 3-2 in the first set for an issue, but did not let that hold him back in his first outing on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 28th seed saved 14 of the 17 break points he faced and hit with great depth in the closing stages to force Cerundolo into baseline errors.
"From the second game I started feeling really sharp in my rib," Blockx said following the three-hour, 15-minute clash. "I was just holding on to be honest. Even though I won that first set 6-3, it could have been the other way round. Afterwards, the doctor gave me some magical medication and that kept me going and from the end of the third set I started to feel a lot better again. I barely felt pain."
After sealing victory on his first match point, Blockx collapsed to the ground before he rose to his feet and embraced Cerundolo and then his team courtside.
Blockx was at No. 116 in the PIF ATP Rankings one year ago but is now up to No. 26 in the Live Rankings. The 21-year-old, who struck 36 winners, is the youngest Belgian major quarter-finalist in the Open Era (since 1968) and just the fourth Belgian man overall to advance to the last eight at a Slam.
"This morning I stepped onto this court for the first time to warm up and that felt unreal, so to play a match here and win a match here is even crazier," Blockx said about playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Blockx will meet Learner Tien or Karen Khachanov for a place in the semi-finals. Last December, Blockx fell to Tien in the title match at the Next Gen ATP Finals.
In a breakout 2026, Blockx has also reached the semi-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid and the final in Estoril, but this is his greatest achievement yet. Blockx is just the fifth man born in 2005 or later to advance to the last eight at a major, joining Tien, Joao Fonseca, Rafael Jodar and Jakub Mensik.
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