Alexander Blockx battled through a worrying rib injury to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open, joking that the doctor's "magic medication" kept him going.
The 28th seed took an early break lead over Francisco Cerundolo, but just five games into the match he called for the physio for the first time and lay on the ground wincing in pain while receiving a medical timeout. The Belgian continued to call the trainer for the next half an hour or so and dropped the second set.
Victory after three hours and 16 minutes
He battled back to claim a 6-3 4-7 7-5 7-5 victory, outlasting the experienced Argentine in three hours and 16 minutes. Blockx dropped to the ground in disbelief as he clinched the most important win of his career on the biggest stage in tennis.
Speaking to the crowd afterwards, he finally shed light on the physical issues he had been facing during the match.
What the Belgian said about the injury
"To be honest with you, from the second game, I started feeling a really sharp pain in my rib. I was really just holding on, to be honest," the new US Open quarter-finalist said.
"Even though I won that first set 6-3, it could have been the other way around. He had so many opportunities. Afterwards, the doctor gave me some magical medication, which kept me going. And from the end of the third set, I started to feel a lot better again. I barely felt pain. So I think I might use that in two days again!"
