Carlos Alcaraz admitted he was “scared” that injury would derail hopes of success at the Japan Open, as the world No. 1 shook off an ankle problem during his first-round win in Tokyo on Thursday.
With the first set level at 2-2 against Argentina’s Sebastian Baez, the top-seeded Spaniard was clearly in pain after twisting his left ankle, and had it heavily strapped up by the physio during a prolonged period of treatment before play resumed.
To add further complications, upon returning to court, it was not long after Alcaraz had broken Baez to lead 5-4 that play was suspended due to rain, although Alcaraz’s team appeared to signal for another medical time-out just before the weather interruption.
The US Open champion would make light work of his opponent under the roof, however, re-emerging to wrap up the contest with a dominant 6-4 6-2 victory.
“I was scared too, I’m not going to lie,” six-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz said afterwards.
“When I landed on the ankle, I was worried, to be honest, because it didn’t feel good at the beginning. I’m just happy that I was able to play after that and play such good tennis. Let’s see.
“I think it’s not going to be easy the next day and a half for me. I will try to recover, to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next round.
“I couldn’t do anything at all during the first five minutes [after] I did it. I was worried that I wouldn’t have the confidence to finish the match, but the physio came and did some tests.
“It was good I could walk to the bench and that gave me confidence [to continue]. I’m trying to have a warrior mentality in every match, in every aspect of everything.”
Alcaraz facing ‘important’ day of rest after concerning ankle scare – ‘I was worried’
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This week, Alcaraz is bidding to become the 13th member of the ATP No. 1 Club to capture the title in Tokyo. He enters the tournament with a tour-leading 63 match wins and seven titles in 2025.
The 22-year-old is through to face Zizou Bergs in the last 16 on Saturday. The Belgian defeated the in-form Chengdu champion Alejandro Tabilo 1-6 7-6(2) 7-6(4).
Watch: Top 5 points from 2025 Laver Cup
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Casper Ruud overcame the loss of the first set to see off Japanese wildcard Shintaro Mochizuki 4-6 6-1 6-1. The former Nitto ATP Finals runner-up is in line to face Alcaraz in the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event should the pair both progress.
Rudd – who faces Matteo Berrettini next – said: “My goal is to have a good end of the season, and I haven’t really had that in the past except for Turin, [where] I’ve had some good results. Indoors is not my forte.
“Let’s see… It was a little tough to play today, coming a long way from San Francisco [at the Laver Cup], but I’m very happy I was able to overcome it.”
Jannik Sinner made a winning return to action as he beat Marin Cilic 6-2 6-2 at the China Open.
The world No. 2 is competing for the first time since his US Open final defeat to Alcaraz.
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