Things were looking very good for Alexander Blockx on the opening day of the 2023 Roland Garros Junior Championships on Sunday, until they started to look very bad.

The reigning boys' singles champion at the Australian Open champion was up 6-4, 5-2 on American Kyle Kang thanks to a great use of his natural power. The serve and forehand were doing the job until his opponent - and that old foe pressure - started to decide otherwise.

Kang, ranked 632 on the ATP Tour, gave everything he had to come back into the match, and it took a lot of self-control from Blockx to fend off an upset and win 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

The Belgian, the No. 2 seed in Paris, took the win as another learning curve. The ATP No. 855, Blockx knows he’s going to get so much from playing against such tough competition.

“These matches help my game for the professional Tour, for sure. Kyle is ATP 600 so it’s basically a men’s match here and it’s very good for my confidence as it shows me that I can win these matches against these good players.”

Does Blockx feel extra pressure after winning the title in Melbourne?

“I don’t feel the pressure on me a lot," he insisted. "Maybe people have expectations for me but I don’t put too much pressure on myself. I just want to enjoy these moments.”

The Belgian has already spent some time on the professional Tour and he came back from it with the belief that the gap wasn’t going to be impossible to bridge.

“It was tough in the beginning of the year, after Australia, to go and play on the professional Tour, but now I don’t feel any kind of difference," he said. "I just play and try to enjoy every match. I just try to play my game no matter what. I just want to develop my game but it’s also nice to see how the other juniors are doing.”

Getting into Grand Slam draws is a childhood dream for Blockx.

“I’ve been watching the Grand Slams since I was 6 or 7-years-old so it’s really nice that I can be here and be one of the favorites to win the tournament. I’ll practice hard and try to get to the men’s draw one day. My favorite player has been Dominic Thiem - I would love to play against him once.”

Dino Prizmic’s idol is not Thiem, but his compatriots Borna Coric and Marin Cilic.

“My favorite player is Borna Coric because he’s a great fighter, and Marin Cilic because he is so good. Both of them are crazy good players.”

Already ranked 293 on the ATP, the 17-year-old made an impressive start to the tournament on Sunday against Jangjung Kim, winning 6-1, 6-2.

Semi-finalist here in 2022, No. 3 seed Prizmic has since gained a huge amount of experience on the professional Tour but he still cares so much about lifting a junior Grand Slam title.

“My dream is Roland Garros and every Grand Slam so it’s a special moment each time to play here and to be part of those tournaments," he said.

The crowd, the atmosphere, the challenge: the Croatian embraces it all.

“It’s really good to play in front of this public. It’s a special tournament for me, I want to also play these tournaments to also see all the best players in the world.

"Overall, I’m very happy. I want to win this tournament, but it’s hard, so you need to play really well. The level is really high, it’s the best of the best of junior players. For me, it’s the same as playing on the [ITF World Tennis Tour]. Challengers are the next level though.”