Casper Ruud has been unable to defend his Madrid Open title.
The Norwegian, who defeated Jack Draper in the 2025 final, was beaten 4-6, 4-6 by Belgian youngster Alexander Blockx in this year’s quarter-finals.
Ruud will now lose 800 ATP ranking points and fall to his lowest ranking in over five years.
Which ATP youngster will win a Masters 1000 title first?
Joao Fonseca, Rafael Jodar, Arthur Fils, or Alexander Blockx…
It was a disappointing defeat for Ruud, who will look to bounce back at the Italian Open, which begins on May 5.
Colin Fleming, the former world number 17 in doubles, was left impressed by Alexander Blockx’s performance, while also shocked by one particular moment.
Colin Fleming was shocked by Casper Ruud’s string break against Alexander Blockx
“Big game. Really big game,” Fleming said of Blockx during his post-match analysis on Sky Sports.
“I always knew he was a player with a lot of feel for the game and a lot of touch. But watching him courtside, I was really impressed by how big his hitting was.
“His first serve, his forehand, his backhand stood up to the test. He beat Ruud today. He stepped up and beat him today, that was impressive.
“I think the surprise factor can sometimes be the case when players are bursting on to the scene, they have a bit of that surprise factor in the first scene.
“I think Blockx had more of a plan for Ruud. We have talked about the power he had, but some of the touches! He is a good mover as well for 6ft 4, he covers the court well and wins all sorts of points.
Alexander Blockx’s run in Madrid
- Round one: defeated Cristian Garin 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
- Round two: defeated Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Round three: defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6, 6-3
- Round four: defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-6, 6-2
- Quarter-finals: defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4
- Semi-finals: Alexander Zverev / Flavio Cobolli
“He is able to dictate points and win on the move and with touch and feel. He looks a pretty complete player, I don’t want to get carried away but this isn’t a flash in the pan, this is a player who is on a serious upwards trajectory.”
Fleming went on to discuss Ruud’s ‘shocking’ string break at the end of the first set, expressing his surprise at the incident occurring.
“I thought the Ruud string break at the end of the first set was shocking to me,” Fleming continued. “Players at this level don’t really break strings, because they are restringing them so often.
“He does play with a lot of spin and maybe he got a bit of clay in the strings and that made it go, but that was costly for Ruud and Blockx didn’t ever really look back. He was impressive.”
Casper Ruud’s Madrid Open record
Ruud made his debut at the Madrid event in 2021.
The Norwegian defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime, Yoshito Nishioka, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Bublik before losing to Matteo Berrettini in the semi-finals.
Ruud failed to impress in 2022 and 2023, losing his opening matches to Dusan Lajovic and Matteo Arnaldi, respectively.
Ruud improved his performance in 2024, reaching the fourth round before losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime.
As mentioned previously, Ruud won his first Masters 1000 title at the 2025 Madrid Open, beating Jack Draper in the final.
