Carlos Alcaraz’s Japan Open campaign looked to be hanging by a thread after a nasty ankle injury just five games into his campaign, but the Spaniard is now into the last eight — without dropping a set.
World No 1 Alcaraz overcame what appeared to be a significant ankle issue early in his opening-round match against Sebastian Baez on Thursday, defeating the Argentine 6-4, 6-2, and returned to court with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Zizou Bergs on Saturday night.
It was not a vintage display from the six-time Grand Slam champion, who was not at his free-flowing best, but Alcaraz did enough to seal a fairly comprehensive victory that was all the more remarkable considering that many thought he would not return to court in Tokyo.
The 22-year-old had revealed he was “worried” about the injury after his match against Baez, though a second consecutive straight-sets win at the ATP 500 event suggests his recovery is heading in the right direction.
And, speaking on court after his victory against world No 45 Bergs on Saturday, the Spaniard revealed that the “best physio in the world” had helped power his return to court.
“Well, it was tough,” admitted Alcaraz.
“It was a really important day and a half I had to recover as good as I can. 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 one hundred percent.
“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.”
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Alcaraz’s team is well-established, and the “best physio in the world” behind his recovery is none other than Juanjo Moreno, who has been working with the 22-year-old ever since he first came onto the tour.
Outside of long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and agent Albert Molina, Moreno has undoubtedly been one of the key influences in Alcaraz’s career and has been a key part of his success.
Moreno travels with the world No 1 to most, if not all, of his tournaments, and was present for the Spaniard’s French Open and US Open triumphs in 2025, alongside most of the other key triumphs in his career.
Alcaraz has faced multiple injury issues across his career, including an injury similar to his Tokyo ankle issue at the Rio Open in 2024 — where the Spaniard was forced to retire just minutes into the match.
He also missed a significant chunk of the clay-court season in 2024 due to a forearm issue, though he bounced back to win Roland Garros that summer.
Alcaraz has always responded well to injury setbacks in his career, and that is likely down to the influence of Moreno, who has been accompanied by physiotherapist Fran Rubio since February.
The Tokyo top seed is now set to return to action on Sunday for a quarter-final against Brandon Nakashima, and will hope Moreno can once again work his magic.