Alexander Blockx (ITF 10) was thrilled on Saturday in Melbourne after winning the Australian Junior Open, his first Grand Slam title. In the Rod Laver Arena, which he was treading for the first time, the young Antwerper, 17, seeded N.3, dominated after an epic match the American Learner Tien (ITF 27), 17 also, who had beaten him the day before in the doubles final. He won 6-1, 2-6 and 7-6 (11/9) after 2h09 of play.
“It was a crazy game“, he confided in a press conference.I’m not going to say it was the best I’ve ever played, but the way I fought, how I got through that third set, how I kept hanging on, it’s about clearly one of the greatest victories of my life. You had to hit the ball hard against Learner, otherwise you see what happens, like in the second set. I couldn’t do anything, because he’s an incredible player. He has one of the best touch on the ball I have ever seen. He controls the ball so well. If you don’t pressure him, what happened in the second set happens. It just sweeps you away. That’s why I came back in the third set hitting as hard as I could. I can make mistakes, yes, but it’s because I had to find a way to put him under pressure, with my forehand, my backhand. Everything had to be. And in the end, I won. It is the most important.“
Alexander Blockx made a try with a masterstroke in Melbourne, since it was his first ever appearance at the Australian Open. He thus becomes only the third Belgian, after Jacky Brichant in 1947 at Roland-Garros and Kimmer Coppejans in 2012 also in Paris, to win a Grand Slam tournament among male juniors. “It was indeed my very first participation, here in Melbourne“, he continued. “I had prepared well for this tournament. I had trained hard. Things turned out well. Every game, I felt like I was playing better and better. Yes, it is a very sweet feeling. My first Grand Slam tournament was Roland-Garros last year. Then there was Wimbledon and the US Open. And each time, I did better. Now it’s just the juniors. It’s not the men. There is still work. But I hope that one day, I will succeed in doing the same with the adults“, he concluded with a smile.
