Belgian number one Alexander Blockx reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the US Open 2026, defeating Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti in four sets.
The 21-year-old from Antwerp, who is seeded 34th in the world, came through against the 36-year-old in a match that was shaped by a dominant start from Baseline, a response from Trungelliti in the third set, and a strong finish from the Belgian.
Blockx was sharp on serve, firing 17 aces, while Trungelliti struggled badly in that area and finished with 12 double faults. The Argentine offered little resistance in the first two sets as Blockx took control, but the 86th-ranked player produced a more inventive and flamboyant display in the third, using drop shots and other unusual patterns to force a fourth set.
Blockx, however, came back out intent on finishing the job. He created break points in every one of Trungelliti’s service games in the fourth set and converted two of them to close out the match, again in commanding fashion.
Until this US Open run, Blockx had never reached the third round at a Grand Slam. In fact, he had won only one main-draw match at one of the four majors before now, at Roland-Garros in May. He did not play his second-round match there after suffering an ankle injury in training.
In the next round, the Belgian will face Italian Flavio Cobolli, the world number six. Cobolli recently beat Blockx at the Cincinnati Masters, although Blockx won their first meeting at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where the Belgian had his breakthrough.