The 21-year-old Belgian, before eliminating the defending champion Ruud, had also defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime and Francisco Cerundolo. He is the fourth lowest-ranked player to reach the semi-finals in the Spanish capital
In Antwerp they know a thing or two about diamonds. They produced the last one on clay, and it is a specimen that is already causing a lot of talk about itself: Alexander Blockx, who turned 21 at the beginning of April, is the fourth player with the lowest ranking to reach the semi-finals of the Madrid tournament. A red-sticker ride like the surface of the Caja Magica, the one of which 2005 is becoming the protagonist: it forced (among others) Auger-Aliassime, Cerundolo and above all the defending champion Casper Ruud to check out, without even losing a set with the three big names. He also wants to sit next to Jodar and Fonseca, among the aspiring super tops of the future. To confirm it, after all, it was also a blessing from Sinner…
sinner’s prophecy
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It is the circuit that changes, in shape and color. A semi-citement at Litfiba to explain how the big names are keeping an eye on the competition by taking into consideration identity cards in particular: Jodar, with his 19 years of age, has already been added to the Next Gen list which includes Fonseca and Mensik among others and aims to attack the laurels of Sinner and Alcaraz. Jannik knows this and takes note all the time, as he admitted in the press conference after beating the Spanish teenager: “Especially in this tournament, several interesting youngsters are coming to the fore: that’s why I came to the stands a few days ago to watch Jodar play against Joao Fonseca. I like studying them because I know they will be potential opponents on more than one occasion. And let’s not forget about Blockx: he’s a little less under the spotlight, but we’re talking about an incredible player.”
in the semifinals
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Investment was spot on in terms of timing and proportions: Alexander from Antwerp took Madrid one step at a time and was careful not to overdo it. With precision (as evidenced by the only 12 gratuitous errors in the whole match against Auger Aliassime) and a bit of cynicism which never hurts: against Ruud he found himself serving for the match and archived the first point with a very slow and at the same time surgical volley, a manifesto of daily work. Even if for Blockx it was wonderful just to be able to register in Madrid: “To tell the truth, I’m simply happy to be here” he confessed to the microphones after reaching the semi-final, “I barely got out of the first round and I was already happy like that. Let alone reaching the semi-final: I wouldn’t have even dreamed of it”.
strong with the big names
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The Belgian isn’t entirely wrong, because the toughest challenge was the first one: against Garin he was down a set and with two break points that could have sent the Chilean serving for 7-5. And therefore with a foot and a half away from Spain. But he pulled out tooth and nail, attributes that the athletes in the family easily passed on to him: father Oleg, Ukrainian, excelled in the obstacle course, while mother Natalia swam at competitive levels. And from there began a comeback that still sees him as a protagonist in Madrid, on a surface that he loves madly: “For me here there is a perfect combination of factors: the surface itself is slow and gives me time to settle in, but here in Madrid it speeds up due to the altitude and sometimes the heat. It’s an ideal mix.” The Belgian was already doing well on clay, if it is true that in Monte Carlo he reached a good third round, coming out only against De Minaur. There is a statistic that speaks for him, a finalist among other things in the latest Next Gen Finals: he played 6 matches against players belonging to the top 20, he won 4. And in the live rankings he entered the top 35 in the world, after starting Madrid as number 69. One step at a time and one luxury scalp after another, to roughen the last diamond on the circuit.
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