He then said that seeing it ruined the win. “I was preparing really well for that match. It’s really not easy to play because on the one hand I felt like I was in control from the beginning, then I started to feel that he was struggling more and more. It’s a mixed feeling because I feel like I’m better at, say, certain situations he suffers. speedy recovery, I definitely saw that he was really suffering all over his body.”
Blockx played injured for days
None of this was sudden. Blokx cruised into the fourth round against Argentina’s 24th seed Francisco Cherundolo 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 while failing to get his serve right, and made it clear at the time.
“I struggled a lot with my rib, especially when serving. It got worse throughout the match. In the end, the doctor gave me some medicine that really helped me in the third set.”
He then said he was troubled by the sharp pain and what followed, adding that he almost retired during that game and only continued when the medication took effect. “Even though I have a lot of medication in my system right now, I still feel it.”
It caps the best two weeks of his career at 21. He arrived as the youngest Belgian ever to make his US Open debut at a Grand Slam, beating Chile’s Tomas Barrios Vera 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti 6-2,6-3, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. For Trungeliti. seed Flavio Coboli 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 over Cerundolo. He is the first Belgian to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open and the youngest Belgian to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam in the Open era, and he will be world number 26 when the tournament is over.
Khachanov’s path was the most difficult on paper
The winner had beaten three seeds and spent nearly four hours in the previous round. Khachanov defeated Argentinian Roman Andres Buruchaga: 6-3, 6-0, 6-1, Canadian 3rd seed Felix Auger-Aliasime: 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi: 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. 6-2, 5-14, American student Khachanov. 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, the latter down from two sets to one in front of a crowd that wanted the other result.
This is his third Grand Slam semi-final and second here since 2022. Saying in court that this looks like the new Karen Khachanov, he directed the interviewer. “It’s not new, I’d say it’s old.” He doesn’t plan to rest until Friday. “I don’t like to have days off. When you’re in this rhythm, this dynamic, this momentum, you want to keep going unless it’s a really, really tough match where you say, OK, I can’t stand up.”
He was already thinking about a serve that got a percentage of the first serve that he wasn’t happy with;
The stadium had mostly gone home. The Arthur Ashe was so sparsely filled for the early evening quarter-finals, with most of the day’s crowds gone after Coco Gauff’s victory, that spectators from the upper tiers were invited down to fill the lower bowl.
US Open 2026, Men’s Singles Quarterfinals
A. Zverev (1) vs B. Van de Zandschulp – did not play
K. Khachanov d. A. Blokx (28): 6-2, 7-5, 3-2 back.
F. Tiafoe (11) d. A. Michelsen: 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(6)
B. Shelton (8) d. K. Alcaraz (2): 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7)
