Alexander Blockx Believes His Generation Can Compete with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on Tour

Alexander Blockx is in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals in Madrid.

Alexander Blockx Believes His Generation Can Compete with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on Tour

Alexander Blockx, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner (via X/ATP/The Tennis Letter)

In Short
  • Alexander Blockx reached the semi-finals of the 2026 Madrid Open, marking his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.
  • He believes he and fellow players Joao Fonseca and Rafael Jodar can compete with top stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
  • Blockx is currently ranked World No.69, while Fonseca and Jodar are ranked World No.29 and World No.34, respectively.

Alexander Blockx has announced himself to the tennis world at the 2026 Madrid Open. The Belgian star is in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals on tour, having done that at the Spanish capital. He now places himself on the same level as Joao Fonseca and Rafael Jodar as they bid to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Blockx is 21 years old, two years older than Fonseca and Jodar on tour. He’s currently ranked World No.69 in the ATP rankings and has impressed since the start of the Madrid. But he’s not the only one who has taken the tennis world by storm recently; Jodar has also done so and has been praised by Jannik Sinner.

Jodar reached the third round of the Miami Open, then claimed his maiden ATP title at the Marrakech Open. He then went on to reach the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open, before enjoying a splendid quarter-finals run at the Madrid Open, losing to Sinner in straight sets. The Spaniard has been dubbed to follow the footsteps of Carlos Alcaraz.

Fonseca, on the other hand, earned his breakthrough last year after winning two ATP titles in Buenos Aires and Basel, respectively. He reached the quarter-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time last month at the Monte Carlo Masters. He then got to the quarter-finals in Munich before the third round in Madrid.

Between Blockx, Jodar, and Fonseca, the highest in the love rankings is the latter, with the Brazilian teenager currently placed World No.29. Jodar does not trail far behind, though, World No.34; he’s expected to break into the top 30 before the French Open. Speaking during his post-match press conference, Blockx revealed that he, Fonseca, and Jodar will continue to fight until they can challenge Sinner and Alcaraz:

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.

Sinner and Alcaraz have been the best players on tour since 2024. They have dominated the ATP Tour, winning the big titles, particularly the Grand Slams. Sinner has four of the last seven Slams, while Alcaraz has won five. Also, the pair is the only one competing for the top ranking in the men’s tour.

Alexander Blockx happy with his performance in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open

Alexander Blockx first caught the eyes of fans at the Madrid Open when he crushed Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets in the third round. The Belgian star broke Auger-Aliassime twice in the second set to win the match 7-6(3), 6-3. He didn’t relent. He defeated Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets to set the tone.

Alexander Blockx
Alexander Blockx (via X/US Open)

On Thursday (April 30), he faced the defending champion, Casper Ruud. Fans were expecting an easy win for Ruud after his display against Stefanos Tsitsipas, but Blockx stunned the Norwegian star 6-4, 6-4. During the aforementioned press conference, Blockx admitted that he was satisfied with his run at the tournament:

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.

The 2025 Next Gen ATP runner-up has been a revelation since the start of the season. He has enjoyed good runs in the Challenger events, but in the ATP has impressed with his recent performances. In fact, in his last three tournaments, he has reached at least the round of 16.

Also Read: Mirra Andreeva Argues with Umpire over Controversial Call During Madrid Semifinal