Carlos Alcaraz dispels injury fears to reach Tokyo quarter-finals

TOKYO – Carlos Alcaraz showed no sign of being hampered by an ankle injury as he beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-4, 6-3 on Sept 27 to reach the Japan Open quarter-finals.

The world No. 1 hurt himself two days earlier in his opening match in Tokyo, crumpling to the ground before playing on with his ankle heavily strapped.

The Spaniard was left sweating on his fitness, but he showed no evidence of discomfort as he returned to the court to beat world No. 45 Bergs in front of an adoring Japanese crowd.

He got the job done in 1hr 20min and will face American Brandon Nakashima in the last eight on Sept 28.

“Well, it was tough. It was a really important day and a half – I had to recover as good as I can,” said Alcaraz, 22.

“I said it before and I’m gonna say it again. I would say I have the best physio in the world, which I trust 100 per cent.

“The work he’s done for the ankle has been great... sometimes I was worried about some movement on court where I could feel the ankle.

“In general, I think I played a great match, good performance from my side. I was thinking about the ankle a little bit but overall just really happy about my performance.”

Elsewhere in Beijing, Alcaraz’s great rival Jannik Sinner overcame a scare against Terence Atmane at the China Open before defeating the French qualifier to earn a 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 second-round win.

“The game style he plays is unique. He’s also a lefty. Great, great player,” Sinner, 24, said of his opponent.

“It was a tricky, tricky second-round match. I was up twice a break in the second, couldn’t use it.

“This is the sport. It happens. Maybe the concentration went a bit down sometimes. I felt a bit of nerves today. It’s normal.

“When you’re tying to add things into your game... you’re trying to add in your drop shot, and somebody is hitting as hard as he is... it’s very difficult to do that, I imagine. But I’m happy to be in the next round again.”

Also in China, Italian Lorenzo Musetti apologised for an on-court outburst at people coughing in the crowd.

The 23-year-old was visibly frustrated at one moment of his three-set win over Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Sept 26. The fourth seed mimicked a person clearing their throat and said in Italian: “They cough every three seconds.”

Local media, including state-owned The Paper, accused him of also mouthing “damn Chinese”.

“My words were directed only at a few individuals in the crowd who were coughing repeatedly and disturbing the play,” Musetti wrote on Instagram on Sept 28.

“They were never, in any way, meant for the Chinese people.

“It happened in a moment of stress and tension in the second tiebreak, but still, this is no excuse at all. I realise the way I expressed myself was wrong and inappropriate, and it hurt many Chinese fans’ feelings.”

In women’s tennis, Iga Swiatek breezed past home player Yuan Yue at the China Open, cruising into the round of 32 with a 6-0, 6-3 victory to start her title bid.

The world No. 2 from Poland next faces Colombia’s Camila Osorio, ranked 83rd, who beat Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Swiatek, who came to Beijing after winning the title in Seoul, gave kudos to her opponent afterwards.

“She was reading the court pretty well,” the 24-year-old said. “It wasn’t easy and every game was tight.”

The six-time Grand Slam champion is the top seed in the Chinese capital after world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka withdrew with injury.

She won the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament in 2023 but missed the action in 2024 citing personal matters.

It later transpired she had accepted a one-month doping ban after testing positive for a prohibited substance.

Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich caused an upset by stunning 14th-ranked Naomi Osaka of Japan, the four-time Major champion. The 31-year-old world No. 130 fought back to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
AFP, REUTERS