Luca Van Assche claimed the Estoril Open title on Sunday by defeating Alexander Blockx in the final (6-4, 4-6, 7-5). At 21, the Frenchman lifts his first ATP trophy after a dream week on the Portuguese clay.
A final full of twists
Van Assche took early control with a decisive break in the seventh game of the opening set. Blockx, 20 and also chasing a maiden title, responded with composure in the second set to force a decider. The third set lived up to its billing: both players held serve until the twelfth game, where Van Assche converted his second match point to seal the victory.
The road to the final
The Frenchman's run at Estoril will be remembered for his quarter-final upset of Andrey Rublev, the tournament's second seed. Van Assche dispatched the Russian in straight sets for the most prestigious win of his young career. In the semi-finals, he defeated Hugo Gaston in an all-French clash that underlined the depth of French tennis.
A spectacular ranking surge
The title propels Van Assche from 78th to 48th in the world, a leap of 30 places and a career-high ranking (998 pts). He joins Quentin Halys, who won Kitzbühel on the same day, in a historic afternoon for French tennis.
Van Assche now holds 998 ranking points. His 2026 record moves to 23 wins and 15 losses. Blockx, despite the defeat, also rises sharply after reaching his first ATP final.
