Belgium's Alexander Blockx continued his remarkable run at the Madrid Open on Thursday, upsetting defending champion Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time.
Ranked 69th in the world, Blockx had never won an ATP Tour-level match on clay before this month. But he has thrived in the Spanish capital, having already knocked out third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 21-year-old wrapped up the victory in 96 minutes, becoming the fourth-lowest-ranked player to reach the semifinals in tournament history. He overwhelmed Ruud with aggressive baseline play, committing few unforced errors.
"I think the conditions suit me well here," Blockx said in his on-court interview. "The clay is slow so I have time to settle and hit my shots. At the same time, it's quite fast with the altitude and heat. It's the perfect combination."
Blockx will face either second seed and two-time champion Alexander Zverev or 10th seed Flavio Cobolli in the next round.