Alexander Blockx continued his remarkable clay-court breakout on Thursday (April 30) by knocking out defending champion Casper Ruud and booking his place in the Mutua Madrid Open semifinals.
The 21-year-old Belgian, ranked World No. 69, produced a confident and strong performance to defeat the 12th-seeded Norwegian 6-4, 6-4 in just 96 minutes inside Manolo Santana Stadium. It marked Blockx’s biggest win yet at an ATP Masters 1000 event and ended Ruud’s bid to retain the title he won in 2025.
Alexander Blockx delivers classy display
Before this tournament, Alexander Blockx had never won a main-draw ATP match on clay. That changed dramatically in Monte Carlo earlier this month, and he carried the momentum straight into Madrid. Along the way he has already beaten third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 16th seed Francisco Cerundolo. Against Ruud, the Belgian was precise from the baseline, aggressive with his powerful forehand, and clever with well-timed drop shots.
He converted three of seven break points and never faced a break point himself. Ruud, who had dropped just five games in his first two matches and saved two match points against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round, looked flat and struggled to match Blockx’s pace and depth.
Alexander Blockx's excitement after the match.
“To be honest, I’m just happy with being here,” he said. “Even winning my first match here. I barely escaped in the first round, and I was happy about that already. Semi-finals is something I wouldn’t have even dreamed of to begin with.
“I’m proud of how I’ve played these past couple of matches. I think the conditions suit me well here. I feel like it’s clay which is slow, so I have time to settle and hit my shots, go for my shots. At the same time, it’s quite fast with the altitude and the heat sometimes. I think it’s the perfect combination for me.”
He added: “Always before the match, I’m very curious about what is going to happen. Like, ‘Am I going to feel my ball well and how is my opponent going to play?’. But I thought from the first game I was hitting my ball quite well, and I made [lots of] returns… Once I got my first game, I was really into the match.”
Historic milestone for young star
The victory makes Alexander Blockx the fourth-lowest-ranked player to reach the Madrid semi-finals in tournament history. He is also only the second man born in 2005 or later to make the last four at a Masters 1000 event, following Jakub Mensik’s run in Miami last year.
Blockx now sits at a career-high No. 35 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, up 34 places. He has improved to 4-2 in matches against Top 20 opponents this month alone. Standing between him and a first tour-level final will be either second seed Alexander Zverev or 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, who play their quarter-final later on Thursday evening.
Casper Ruud drops out of top 20 for first time since 2021
For Casper Ruud, the defeat brings a tough end to his title defence. The Norwegian will slide out of the Top 20 on Monday for the first time since May 2021. He currently sits at No. 25 in the live rankings.
