Khachanov reaches a first Grand Slam semifinal in three years as Blockx’s body finally gives out
Alexander Blockx had been playing on medication for days and his body gave out at 3-2 in the third set, handing Karen Khachanov a first Grand Slam semifinal in three years at 6-2, 7-5, 3-2. The 21-year-old Belgian leaves New York as the first man from his country to reach a US Open quarterfinal, and world No. 26.
Kharen Khachanov, US Open 2026 | © PsNewz
Karen Khachanov spent most of Wednesday night trying not to celebrate. The Russian, ranked No. 50 and unseeded, was leading Belgian No. 28 seed Alexander Blockx 6-2, 7-5, 3-2 in the US Open quarterfinals when Blockx retired, taped at the left thigh and the right ankle, having called a medical timeout for his back, and Khachanov went through to a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in three years.
Khachanov plays the winner of the quarterfinal between German top seed Alexander Zverev and Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
He said afterwards that watching it happen had spoiled the winning. “I was preparing really, really well for that matchup. It’s not easy really to play, because from one side I was feeling I was dominating from the beginning, then I started to feel like he was struggling more and more. It’s a mixed feeling, because I feel like I’m better, let’s say, in certain situations, he’s suffering. I don’t want to scream come on or something like that, and I wanted to keep the energy still there. I wish him a speedy recovery, definitely. I saw that really he was suffering all over his body.”
Blockx had been playing hurt for days
None of it was sudden. Blockx had come through the fourth round against Argentinian No. 24 seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 while unable to serve properly, and described it plainly at the time.
“I was struggling a lot with my rib, especially while serving. It kept getting worse throughout the match. Eventually the doctor gave me some medication, which really helped me towards the end of the third set.”
He said then that he had been worried about the sharp pain and about what came next, and he added that he had nearly retired during that match and had only continued once the medication took effect. “Even though there’s a lot of medication in my body right now, I still feel it.”
It ends the best fortnight of his career at 21. He arrived as the youngest Belgian man ever seeded at a Grand Slam, on his US Open main-draw debut, and beat Chilean qualifier Tomas Barrios Vera 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, Argentinian Marco Trungelliti 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 and Italian No. 5 seed Flavio Cobolli 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 before Cerundolo. He is the first Belgian man to reach a US Open quarterfinal and the youngest Belgian to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open era, and he will be world No. 26 when the tournament finishes.
Khachanov’s route was the harder one on paper
The winner had beaten three seeds and spent nearly four hours in the previous round. Khachanov took out Argentinian Roman Andres Burruchaga 6-3, 6-0, 6-1, Canadian No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, French player Benjamin Bonzi 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and American No. 14 seed Learner Tien 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, the last of those from two sets to one down in front of a crowd that wanted the other result.
It is his third Grand Slam semifinal and his second here, after 2022. Told on court that this looked like a new Karen Khachanov, he corrected the interviewer. “It’s not new, I would say it’s old.” He is not planning to rest before Friday. “I don’t like to have days off. Once you’re in this rhythm, in this dynamics, in this momentum, you want to keep going, unless it was a really, really difficult match that you say, okay, I cannot stand up.”
He was already thinking about the serve, which had produced a first-serve percentage he was not happy with: “I was thinking even maybe to go to serve now a little bit, because the percentage was not so high.”
The stadium had largely gone home. Arthur Ashe was so sparsely filled for an early-evening quarterfinal, most of the day crowd having left after Coco Gauff won, that spectators in the upper tiers were invited down to fill the lower bowl.
US Open 2026, men’s singles quarter finals
A. Zverev [1] vs B. Van de Zandschulp – not played
K. Khachanov d. A. Blockx [28]: 6-2, 7-5, 3-2 ret.
F. Tiafoe [11] d. A. Michelsen: 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(6)
B. Shelton [8] d. C. Alcaraz [2] : 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7)
