Alexander Blockx shares how far he is from Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner after reaching Madrid Open semi-finals

Blockx moves into the semi-finals in the Madrid Open

Alexander Blockx has announced himself to the tennis world at the 2026 edition of the Madrid Open.

The Belgian had a bit of a slow start to the tournament, but he’s now putting together some real momentum as he moves into the business end of things.

That win sent him through to a quarter-final clash with Ruud, who is now back outside of the top 10, although not by much.

The 27-year-old was certainly one of many threats remaining in this year’s draw, and Blockx just handled him quite easily.

Blockx broke Ruud’s serve three times across two sets to secure a straight-sets victory

A ranking gap and more tour experience usually tip these kinds of matches in favour of someone like Ruud. Still, it was Blockx who looked sharper for most of their encounter.

There wasn’t much between them until later in each set when Blockx played some aggressive tennis. In both sets, he managed breaks late on and then served out both without any trouble.

I think I’m also better mentally – more consistent. Just like my baseline game and everything about my game. Like today as well, there were some ups and downs for sure with that crowd getting behind him and everything that happened.”

Alexander Blockx gives his take on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

When asked about the possibility of him, Jodar and Joao Fonseca taking on Sinner and Alcaraz anytime soon, Blockx said: “We will definitely try.

“I think they are still a big level ahead of us. But, yeah, that’s why we play this sport, to be able to make a chance maybe to compete with them.

“Yeah, it will be really difficult, but if you believe in it, then you have a small chance, yeah.”

Fonseca is the highest-ranked among the three, sitting at 29th in the live rankings. The Brazilian also has 2 ATP titles to his name at only 19 years old.

Jodar isn’t far off either. He’s currently ranked 34th following a semi-final run in Barcelona and a quarter-final appearance in Madrid.

Alexander Blockx shares thoughts on victory over Casper Ruud in Madrid

Reflecting on his win against Ruud, Blockx said: “It’s nice beating the defending champion, and also Casper, whose favourite conditions are here, I think. That shows me that I can play well on clay, too.

“Yeah, the ranking is going up really fast. And, as I said, it’s nice to be able to play the bigger tournaments now. And, yeah, I don’t know, the ceiling, I’ll just see match by match, and hopefully I can get as high as I can, yeah.

“I was already happy with getting into the main draw here. I got into the main draw last minute on Friday, just before the deadline. So winning my first match here was already a bonus for me.

“Then, yeah, of course, all the other matches, I never thought I would get that far. But once you get confident and you feel your game, a lot can happen, yeah.”

Blockx was 176th in April of last year and has since then gone up 107 places to currently sit at No. 69 in the world.

His best finish so far is a runner-up spot at the ATP level in Marseille earlier this season, where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.

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