Alexander Blockx announced himself to the tennis world at the 2026 edition of the Madrid Open.
The 21-year-old Belgian reached the semifinals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament after recording a number of impressive wins.
Blockx earned two comeback victories in the early rounds against Cristian Garin and Brandon Nakashima before knocking out third-seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
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He then defeated Francisco Cerundolo and, in the quarterfinals, dethroned defending champion Casper Ruud.
In the final four, however, Blockx was beaten by Alexander Zverev, with the German reaching his first Masters final since 2024.
Alexander Blockx message to Alexander Zverev after the defeat
Zverev defeated Blockx in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, to set up a final clash with world number one Jannik Sinner.
After the loss, Blockx took to Instagram to say: “Two weeks that will stay with me for a very long time!
“Crazy good level from @alexzverev123 today, simply too good. Hope to be back next year @mutuamadridopen.”
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This year’s Madrid Open marked Blockx’s fifth appearance at an ATP Masters 1000 competition.
He made his Masters debut at the Miami Open last year and has since featured in Canada, Cincinnati, Monte-Carlo and Madrid.
Alexander Blockx says Alexander Zverev has a ‘very complete game’
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Blockx said of Zverev: “I think he has a very complete game.
“He serves really well. He returns really well. I felt a lot of pressure from the beginning already of the match and, yeah, I think he deserves to be in the final here. He was just better today, and that’s all I can say.
“I tried to, yeah, keep my serve up, as I did in the last matches. In the rally I tried a bit of everything.
“I tried to hold the rally, I tried to be aggressive, I tried to open up the court. I felt like he had an answer to everything.
“But, yeah, I just need to improve everything I’m doing now to hopefully have a chance the next time.”
Zverev will now attempt to snap an eight-match losing streak against Sinner, whom he has not beaten since 2023.
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