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Constructing Blockx: #NextGenATP Belgian youth spark fuels ‘unbelievable ardour’
Perception from the 19-year-old and his common coach
September 18, 2024
Saint-Tropez opening
Alexander Blockx is a rising teenager on the ATP Challenger Tour.
By Grant Thompson
‘Does this little man wish to strive a ball too?’
That was the query that began all of it for Alexander Blockx, who began enjoying tennis on the age of 4. Blockx’s brother Maxime, three years older than him, was taking tennis classes and as Alexander stood on the sidelines watching, coach Philippe Cassiers uttered the sentence that launched the Belgian’s journey within the sport.
To this present day, Blockx is coached by Cassiers, a 15-year partnership that has seen a lot success. Blockx turned junior No. 1 in singles and doubles in 2023, the identical 12 months he gained the Australian Open boys’ singles occasion.
The 19-year-old participant, who is principally enjoying on the ATP Challenger Tour this season, is making his dream of changing into knowledgeable tennis participant come true. It’s a particular second for somebody who entered the tennis world nearly accidentally.
“It wasn’t deliberate for me, I simply went alongside to observe [my brother] “Just a little bit,” Blockx instructed ATPTour.com. “Once we lastly acquired there, the coach requested my mother and father, ‘Does this man wish to strive a ball?’ I mentioned, ‘Sure,’ and I began enjoying and by no means stopped.”
Cassiers, who runs a tennis faculty exterior Antwerp, instantly observed Blockx’s pure expertise.
“There was just a little boy sitting on the bench subsequent to mother and pa — and that was Alexander,” Cassiers mentioned. “I requested, ‘Do you wish to strive?’ He stood up and mentioned, ‘Let’s do it.’ We threw a number of balls to him and you may see he was very motivated, able to play instantly. He wasn’t afraid. He was prepared and it was quite a lot of enjoyable. I spoke to his mother and father: ‘Possibly we should always strive coaching for the toddler.’ We have been at it ever since.”
Blockx isn’t the primary skilled athlete in his household. His father Oleg was a monitor athlete, who excelled in hurdling, whereas Blockx’s mom Natalia was knowledgeable swimmer.
The #NextGenATP teen by no means performed some other sport than tennis. As a child, he was too busy dominating tennis tournaments, even above his age group.
“You’ve gotten large desires, however after I realized I used to be good on the sport, I performed with guys who have been older than me, two or three years older than me. As a result of at my age and a 12 months older, I hardly misplaced a match each time we performed till I used to be 14,” mentioned Blockx, who’s ranked twenty fourth within the PIF ATP Stay Race To Jeddah.
“First I performed the Belgian tournaments. I gained nearly every little thing after which my coach mentioned: ‘Okay, now we’re going to play a better age class’. I began profitable every little thing, so we began enjoying internationally to see how that will go. Within the under-12 class I performed 45 video games and gained 42, I believe. Then we thought: ‘Okay, there’s actual potential’. On the age of 12 I realised that I wished to go all the way in which and that it would work out.”
Blockx is at present ranked 264 within the PIF ATP rankings, however has obtained extra consideration for the reason that starting of 2023, when he turned Belgium’s third junior Slam champion and the primary at Melbourne Park. Jacques Brichant (1947) and Kimmer Coppejans (2012) triumphed at Roland Garros.
Alexander Blockx wins the 2023 Australian Open junior title. Credit: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images
“It was amazing. Also because of the way I won it, 11/9 tie-breaker in the third set [in the final]said Blockx. “I played against some good players all week: [Joao] Fonseca, vs. Learner [Tien] in the final.”
Blockx has reached the semifinals of the ATP Challenger Tour three times this year, twice before a two-month injury layoff mid-season. Blockx played his second match of what was supposed to be a five-week Asian swing in April when he tore a ligament in his right ankle, sidelining him until mid-July.
Now back to full health, Blockx showed flashes of his best last week when he made his Davis Cup debut, which he described as “one of the best experiences of my life on a tennis court so far.” Representing his home country against Italy, Blockx forced former world number 6 Matteo Berrettini to three sets.
According to Cassiers, one of the most important factors in Blockx’s breakthrough is his pupil’s genuine love for the sport.
“He has an incredible passion for tennis,” Cassiers said. “It’s becoming more of an obsession at the moment. He’s really, really into the game. I’ve seen a lot of players over the years, but I’ve never seen a player who is so passionate and obsessed with the game and [with] the will to improve.
“Off the court, he follows websites, Challenger TV, YouTube, all that stuff. You can ask him really tough questions, ‘Who played in the quarterfinals of Madrid in 2020?’ Or whatever, he can give you an answer with the scores. Off the court, he’s still busy with tennis stuff.”