Alcaraz 'scared' after hurting ankle at Japan Open
World number one Carlos Alcaraz says he was “scared” after injuring his ankle during his first-round victory at the Japan Open in Tokyo on Thursday.
World number one Carlos Alcaraz says he was “scared” after injuring his ankle during his first-round victory at the Japan Open in Tokyo on Thursday.
Jannik Sinner made a quick start in his bid to reclaim the China Open trophy in Beijing, where he powered past two-time finalist Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-2.
Competing for the first time since his US Open final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, with which he also ceded the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings, Sinner bounced back in emphatic fashion. The 24-year-old Italian, who triumphed on his Beijing debut in 2023 and reached last year’s final, saved the only break point he faced upon return to the Chinese ATP 500 event, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Sinner will aim to keep pace in his battle with rival Alcaraz for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours across the remaining months of the season. He trails the Spaniard, who is competing in Tokyo, by 2,590 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
Sinner will next face Terence Atmane for the second time in as many months. The French qualifier earlier defeated Zhang Zhizhen for his first tour-level win since his surprise run to the semi-finals in Cincinnati, where he was halted by Sinner in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash.
Earlier on Day in the Chinese capital, Alexandre Muller sprang an early upset by rallying past Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 for his first Top 10 win on hard courts and third overall (3-9). He will next play Fabian Marozsan, who ousted Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(1), 6-3 on his Beijing debut.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also booked his spot in the second round with a clinical 6-1, 6-3 victory over Camilo Ugo Carabelli. The Spaniard, who hit 21 winners, including six aces, awaits eighth seed Daniil Medvedev or Cameron Norrie next in Beijing.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Carlos Alcaraz overcame both an injury scare and a rain delay on a dramatic debut at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, where he defeated Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday evening.
Midway through the opener, the World No. 1 collapsed to the floor holding his left ankle and heel, which required strapping, only to later be interrupted by a 30-minute rain delay prior to serving for the first set. Despite the setbacks, Alcaraz steadied himself to win in straight sets and move safely into the second round at the ATP 500 event.
“I was scared too, I’m not gonna lie,” Alcaraz said. “When I planted the ankle, I was worried, because it didn’t feel good at the beginning. I’m just happy that I was able to play good tennis after that and finish the match quite good. I will try to recover to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next round.”
After dropping serve for 2-2 in the first set, Alcaraz stretched for a forehand and stumbled backward in clear discomfort before collapsing to the court, clutching his left leg and glancing anxiously to his team. While lying there, the World No. 1 received on-court attention from the physio before moving to his chair, where his left ankle and heel were taped during a medical timeout.
Alcaraz tentatively returned, but eventually retrieved some of his first-class shotmaking to seal the first set, which was halted for 30 minutes at 5-4. The 22-year-old Spaniard then had the strapping reinforced, and with his movement more secure, he powered through the remainder of the match.
“I couldn’t do anything at all during the first five minutes [after] I did it,” said Alcaraz, who improved to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Baez. “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.”
Next in his campaign is Zizou Bergs, who ousted in-form Chengdu champion Alejandro Tabilo 1-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4). The top-seeded Alcaraz is this week aiming to join 12 fellow ATP No. 1 Club members who have triumphed in Tokyo. He owns a Tour-leading 63 wins and seven titles in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
Alcaraz’s seeded semi-final opponent Casper Ruud shook off a sluggish in his opener to overcome Japanese wild card Shintaro Mochizuki 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 and keep pace in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The former Nitto ATP Finals runner-up is currently 13th, but he insists that qualification for the season finale is yet to cross his mind.
“Not yet. Typically when we come back to Europe, there’s only three or four more tournaments, so that’s when you think about it,” said Ruud, who next plays Matteo Berrettini. “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, but I’m very happy I was able to overcome it.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Taylor Fritz narrowly escaped an opening-round upset on Thursday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, where he rallied past Gabriel Diallo 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).
Just days removed from his standout Laver Cup wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, Fritz found himself pushed onto the defensive against fellow big server Diallo, who struck 16 more winners (40-24). Yet the second-seeded American dug deep to seal a two-hour, nine-minute victory and extend his perfect 3-0 record in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Taking care of business 🫡@Taylor_Fritz97 survives the Diallo test to advance to round two.@japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/S2YAcknt7P
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 25, 2025
With his win, Fritz also strengthened his bid to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive year. He is sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, having reached the title match at last year’s season finale before falling to Jannik Sinner.
“The biggest thing for me today was the energy, it’s really tough to match the energy from last week with Andre [Agassi] and the team going crazy on the bench,” said Fritz of Laver Cup’s Team World, captained by Andre Agassi. “I really just had to find it and get it going. It was a really tough match to play.”
Fritz now boasts a 46-17 record in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, only behind World No. 1 Alcaraz (62) for the most wins this season. The American, who captured the Tokyo title in 2022, faces a second-round clash with Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
It was also a strong day for other Americans. Sebastian Korda rallied past countryman Marcos Giron for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory, while Jenson Brooksby upset sixth seed and last year’s finalist Ugo Humbert 7-6(4), 6-3.
Korda set a meeting with Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro, who stunned fifth seed Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-6(4) in his first tour-level match of the season, and Brooksby next plays Luciano Darderi, who denied home hope Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(9), 6-3 to advance.
Korda, who missed the grass swing due to a right shin stress fracture, is up seven spots to No. 67 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Brooksby now has 17 tour-level wins this year and remains on track to better his career-best count of 25 from 2022, the year he reached a career-high World No. 33.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]