Blockx: "Zverev deserves to be in the final"

Madrid, Spain – Belgian tennis player Alexander Blockx has accepted his defeat in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters 1000 with a sense of resignation, graciously acknowledging the superior performance of his opponent, German Alexander Zverev. Blockx stated that Zverev "deserves to be in the final" after a match where the German's all-around game proved too much to handle.

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Zverev has a very complete game. He serves very well. He returns very well. I felt a lot of pressure from the beginning of the match and I think he deserves to be in the final. He was simply better and that's all I can say.

"Zverev has a very complete game. He serves very well. He returns very well," Blockx commented. "I felt a lot of pressure from the beginning of the match and I think he deserves to be in the final. He was simply better and that's all I can say." The 21-year-old Belgian struggled to find solutions against Zverev's consistent play, particularly on his serve, and was unable to break his opponent even once throughout the match.

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I tried to keep my serve high, as in the last matches. In the peloteo I tried a bit of everything. I tried to keep the point, I tried to be aggressive, I tried to open the court. But I felt like he had an answer for everything.

Blockx detailed his attempts to adapt his strategy, trying various approaches during rallies, including maintaining the point, playing aggressively, and opening up the court. However, he felt that Zverev had an answer for every tactic. "I tried to keep my serve high, as in the last matches. In the rallies I tried a bit of everything... But I felt like he had an answer for everything," Blockx explained.

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I just need to improve everything I'm doing now to have a chance next time.

Despite the semifinal exit, Blockx expressed a degree of satisfaction with his overall performance in the tournament. "I felt pretty good in the second set. It was a tough match, especially the second set. But I think I can be happy with the last two weeks I spent here," he concluded, looking ahead to future improvements. "I just need to improve everything I'm doing now to have a chance next time."

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I felt pretty good in the second set. It was a tough match, especially the second set. But I think I can be happy with the last two weeks I spent here.