He did it! We wondered where he was going to stop in his magnificent Australian career, the young Belgian, Alexander Blockx (ITF 10), won the junior tournament of the Australian Open! The 17-year-old Antwerper, seeded number three, beat the American Learner Tien (ITF 27) in straight sets 6-1, 2-6 and 7-6 (11/9) in the final. This is the very first time that a Belgian has won the junior men’s tournament.
Blockx, who had reached the quarter-finals of the US Open juniors in 2022, offered Belgium a third junior singles final in the last four Grand Slam tournaments after those lost in 2022 by Gilles Arnaud Bailly at Roland-Garros and the US Open. Kimmer Coppejans was the last Belgian to win a title in one of tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments, not counting wheelchair tennis. He won the junior singles at Roland-Garros in 2012.
This final was the second for Alexander Blockx in Melbourne. On Friday, he was beaten in the junior doubles final. The duo he forms with Brazilian Joao Fonseca, seeded N.1, lost 6-4, 6-4 in the final against Americans Learner Tien and Cooper Williams, seeds N.7.
