NEW YORK — Alexander Blockx became the first Belgian man to reach the US Open quarterfinals after defeating Francisco Cerundolo in four sets Monday at Flushing Meadows.
The 21-year-old Blockx, seeded 28th in his US Open debut, defeated the 24th-seeded Argentine 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Blockx overcame rib pain during the match and received medication from a tournament doctor. He said he considered retiring if he lost the third set.
“I was really close to retiring, to be honest,” Blockx 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.”
Blockx said he had already taken medication before the match and received additional medication during play.
“Even before the match I was already under medication, and during the match I had medication,” he said. “So if you feel that much pain while having a lot of medication, that’s not a good sign.”
The pain eventually eased, allowing Blockx to continue.
After splitting the first two sets, the players remained level at 5-5 in the third when Blockx faced a 0-40 deficit on his serve. He saved the game with strong serves and powerful groundstrokes, then broke Cerundolo in the following game to take the set.
The fourth set stayed on serve until Blockx broke Cerundolo in the final game. The Belgian fell to the court after Cerundolo sent his final shot wide.
“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 entered the year outside the top 100 and had to qualify for the Australian Open. He also defeated fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli in the third round at the US Open.
Blockx will face Russian Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals. Khachanov defeated 14th-seeded American Learner Tien 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1, 6-4.
Khachanov, a former US Open semifinalist, also defeated third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.