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Constructing Blockx: #NextGenATP Belgian’s childhood spark fueled ‘unbelievable ardour’
Perception from the 19-year-old and his longtime coach
September 18, 2024
Saint-Tropez Open
Alexander Blockx is a rising teenager on the ATP Challenger Tour.
By Grant Thompson
‘Does this little man additionally wish to attempt a ball?’
That was the query that began all of it for Alexander Blockx, who started taking part in tennis at age 4. Blockx’s brother Maxime, three years his senior, was taking tennis classes and whereas Alexander was watching courtside, coach Philippe Cassiers uttered the phrase that kickstarted the Belgian’s journey within the sport.
To this present day, Blockx is coached by Cassiers, a 15-year partnership that has featured nice success. Blockx turned the junior No. 1 in singles and doubles in 2023, the identical yr he gained the Australian Open boys’ singles occasion.
Competing totally on the ATP Challenger Tour this season, the 19-year-old resides out his dream as knowledgeable tennis participant, a pinch-me second for somebody whose begin in tennis was almost unintentional.
“It wasn’t deliberate for me, I used to be simply going with to see [my brother] a bit,” Blockx recalled to ATPTour.com. “Ultimately once we received there, the coach requested my dad and mom, ‘Does this little man additionally wish to attempt a ball?’ I stated, ‘Sure’, and I began taking part in and by no means stopped.”
Cassiers, who runs a tennis academy exterior of Antwerp, immediately seen Blockx’s pure means.
“There was just a little boy sitting on the bench subsequent to mommy and daddy — and that was Alexander,” Cassiers stated. “I requested, ‘Do you wish to attempt?’ He stood up and was like, ‘Let’s do it’. We threw him a pair balls and you may inform he was actually motivated, able to play immediately. He wasn’t scared. He was able to go for it and it was actually enjoyable. I talked to his dad and mom, ‘Perhaps we should always attempt coaching for the baby as nicely’. We have now been working ever since.”
Blockx is just not the primary skilled athlete in his household. His father Oleg was a monitor athlete, excelling in hurdle races whereas Blockx’s mom Natalia was knowledgeable swimmer.
The #NextGenATP teen has by no means performed any sport in addition to tennis. As a toddler, he was too busy dominating tennis tournaments, even above his age group.
“You could have huge goals, however once I realised I used to be good on the sport was once I was taking part in with guys older than me, two or three years older than me. As a result of towards my age and a yr older, I barely misplaced a recreation each time we performed till the age of 14,” stated Blockx, who’s twenty fourth within the PIF ATP Stay Race To Jeddah.
“First, I performed the Belgian tournaments. I used to be profitable virtually every thing after which my coach stated, ‘Okay, now we’re going to play the next age group’. I began profitable every thing so we began taking part in worldwide to see how that goes. In below 12s, I performed 45 matches and gained 42 I believe. So then we have been like, ‘Okay, there’s actual potential’. On the age of 12, I realised I wish to go all in and it’d truly work out.”
Presently No. 264 within the PIF ATP Rankings, Blockx has gained extra consideration because the begin of 2023, when he turned Belgium’s third junior Slam champion and first at Melbourne Park. Jacques Brichant (1947) and Kimmer Coppejans (2012) triumphed at Roland Garros.
Alexander Blockx wins the 2023 Australian Open junior title.”>Alexander Blockx wins the 2023 Australian Open junior title. Credit score: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP by way of Getty Pictures“It was superb. Additionally due to the best way I gained it, 11/9 third-set tie-breaker [in the final],” Blockx stated. “The entire week I performed some good gamers: [Joao] Fonseca, towards Learner [Tien] within the last.”
Blockx this yr has made three semi-final appearances on the ATP Challenger Tour, with two of these runs coming previous to a two-month damage layoff in the midst of the season. Blockx was taking part in his second match in what was imagined to be a five-week Asian swing in April when he tore a ligament in his proper ankle, sidelining him till mid-July.
Now again at full well being, Blockx confirmed flashes of his greatest stage final week when he made his Davis Cup debut, which he labelled as, “probably the greatest experiences of my life up to now on a tennis courtroom”. Blockx represented his residence nation towards Italy and pushed former World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini to 3 units.
One key factor in Blockx’s breakthrough, based on Cassiers, has been his cost’s real love for the game.
“He has a ardour for tennis that’s actually unbelievable,” Cassiers stated. “It is turning into extra of an obsession for the time being. He’s actually, actually into the sport. I see many gamers over the past years, and I’ve by no means seen a participant this passionate and obsessive about the sport and [with] the need to enhance.
“Off the courtroom, he’s following web sites, Challenger TV, YouTube and all this stuff. You possibly can ask him very exhausting questions, ‘In 2020, who performed the quarter-finals of Madrid?’ Or no matter, he’s going to have the ability to offer you a solution with the scores. Off the courtroom, he’s nonetheless busy with tennis issues.”
