US Open: Alexander Blockx becomes first Belgian man in history to reach quarter-finals

New York: Alexander Blockx defeated Francisco Cerundolo in four sets on Monday, becoming the first Belgian man in history to advance to the US Open quarter-finals.

The 21-year-old Blockx, seeded 28th in his main-draw debut at Flushing Meadows, outlasted 24th-seeded Cerundolo 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

Blockx, who eliminated fifth seed Flavio Cobolli in the third round, backed up that result with a gritty display during which he required "magical medication" from the tournament doctor to manage a "sharp pain in my rib."

"I was just holding on to be honest," Blockx said. "Even though I won that first set 6-3, it could have been the other way round."

Speaking to reporters later, Blockx disclosed that he had contemplated retiring had he dropped the third set.

"I was really close to retiring, to be honest," he said. "I was just hanging in there, but I think if I would have lost the third set, I think the chances were really high of me retiring."

"Even before the match, I was already under medication, and during the match I had medication. So if you feel that much pain while having a lot of medication, that's not a good sign."

However, "eventually it got better," he noted. "It would have been a shame if I would have retired and then it got better afterwards. I was just lucky."

The victory represents the latest milestone for Blockx, who began the year ranked outside the top 100 and was forced to go through qualifying at the Australian Open.

With the players level after sharing the opening two sets, Blockx and Cerundolo reached 5-5 in the third when the Belgian fell behind 0-40 on his service game.

Blockx rallied using heavy serves and powerful groundstrokes to hold serve before breaking Cerundolo in the following game to secure the third set.

A closely contested fourth set remained on serve until Blockx secured the decisive break in the final game, collapsing onto the court in celebration as a return from the Argentine sailed out.

"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.

Blockx advances to face Russian Karen Khachanov, who edged 14th-seeded American Learner Tien in a five-set marathon, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1, 6-4.

Khachanov, a former US Open semifinalist, previously upset third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.

AFP