Francisco Cerundolo vs Alexander Blockx — R16 — US Open

Game 12 of the third set is where three hours of attrition tipped, Blockx breaking there for 7-5 after Cerundolo had spent the opening set collecting nine break points and converting one. That ratio held all afternoon: the No. 24 seed manufactured 17 break points and took three, while the 21-year-old Belgian saved 14 of the 17 he faced and needed only five of his own 12. Three points separated them across 269. The serve supplied the rest — 10 aces, 18 of 21 games held, a first delivery averaging 209 km/h against the Argentine's 179 — from a 1.91 m Antwerp right-hander whose height has always been the argument. Blockx, who beat then-No. 6 Cobolli in the third round here, had never gone past the round of 64 at a major; three hours and 15 minutes later he has a first Grand Slam quarterfinal.