The Blockx miracle: "I was about to retire, today I got lucky"

Alexander Blockx is one of the main protagonists of this 2026 US Open. The American tournament seems to be the true moment of emergence for the Belgian, capable of quickly progressing and leaving his mark for the first time in a Grand Slam. In a stellar year, Flushing Meadows is also establishing itself as the confirmation that he is someone who knows how to win while suffering, gripping the court, and showing a determination to frustrate his opponents that is unusual for his player profile.

He took it to the limit today in the quarter-finals, frustrating Cerúndolo despite suffering a significant rib injury. He confessed this in the press conference, where he even went further and made it clear that he thought about withdrawing: during the first three sets, he was unable to feel well, with the third set being the true turning point that kept him alive not only in the match... but in the tournament. We are not exaggerating.

I think Blockx isn’t doing too well physically pic.twitter.com/7c93dZzwVE

— Sam (@LoverLondonGirl) September 7, 2026

Blockx and an incredible revelation to advance to the US Open quarter-finals

Feelings after a historic victory against Cerúndolo

"First of all, I’m very happy to advance. It hasn’t been easy to win today; physically, it was a real battle we experienced on the court. On the tennis level, I’ve been great all week. Today was a physical issue; everything felt very uphill from the start of the match. I was suffering a lot with my rib, especially while serving. It worsened as the match progressed. Finally, the doctor gave me some medication, which helped a lot at the end of the third set. In the fourth set, I could finally serve normally, as I usually do. I think I had some luck at times. I’m happy to have advanced in four sets."

Are you worried about the injury you suffered today for the rest of the tournament?

"To be honest, during those first three sets, I was very, very worried because I felt a sharp pain in my rib. I don’t know. Right now, at this moment... I’m okay. I received some treatment, some pills, so I hope it stays that way and even improves for tomorrow, for the next match. We’ll see."

Alexander Blockx tells me for US Open Radio that he nearly retired during the match vs. Cerundolo. Pain meds kicked in S3 and he decided to keep fighting.

He says he’s worried about the next round. “Even though there’s a lot of medication in my body right now, I still feel it.”

— Gill Gross 🦣 (@Gill_Gross) September 7, 2026

About how close he was to retiring due to those discomforts

"I was very close to retiring, honestly. I was hanging in there as best as I could. I think the chances of me withdrawing if I had lost the third set were very high: until the end of the third set, I didn’t feel any improvement. I was already taking stuff before the match, and during the match, I had new medication. If you feel so much pain with that much medication in your system, something is wrong. I’m happy to have kept playing, as everything finally improved. It would have been a shame to retire and have everything improve afterward. I was lucky, yes."

A moment when you realized, at the beginning, that you could be very good at this sport

"I think that first moment was when I won the Junior Australian Open. That was the first time I felt that, even though I was still playing juniors, I had the chance for a great start in the tennis world and a great career. At the highest level, maybe at some point this year. I had a very good start in Australia, getting into the top 100 and then making a big impact on the clay tour. If I had to choose one tournament, I would undoubtedly pick Madrid."

About Karen Khachanov, who will be his next opponent in the quarter-finals

"We’ve trained together a couple of times. He’s a huge guy, serves great, and hits very heavy from the baseline. In my opinion, he’s an underrated player. Even though he’s not seeded here or has fallen a bit in the rankings, I still think he’s one of the best players on the planet if he has a good day. He’s showing us all that he’s still playing at a very high level. It’s going to be a tough match."

Was Goffin your idol as you grew up or another figure?

"I wouldn’t say Goffin was my idol, but he was someone I admired as a fellow countryman. He’s done incredible things for Belgian tennis, taking us to the Davis Cup finals twice, reaching the ATP Finals. Those are incredible results; he was #7 in the world. I have a lot of admiration for everything he has achieved, but my idol has always been Roger (Federer) as I was growing up, yes."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El milagro de Blockx: "Estuve a punto de retirarme, hoy tuve suerte"