After overcoming concerns about an ankle injury to defeat Zizou Bergs in the second round of the Japan Open, Carlos Alcaraz declared that he had the “best physio in the world.”
The world’s number one had previously claimed he was “scared” after he slammed into awkward ground in his Thursday first-round defeat to Sebastian Baez.
The 22-year-old Spaniard looked unharmed as he won 6-4, 6-3 over unseeded Belgian Bergs to advance to the quarter-final with Brandon Nakashima in Tokyo.
Alcaraz, who won the US Open last month, said, “I could play, I would say, normally.”
“I was concerned about some court movements where I could feel my ankle,” but overall I think I had a great match.
I have the best physio in the world, who I can trust completely, and I think his work on the ankle is outstanding.
In another match, French qualifier Terence Atmane, age 23, defeated world number two Jannik Sinner 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals.
After twice leading by a break, the Italian, who lost to Alcaraz in the US Open final but has since won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, struggled in the second set.
In August, Atmane defeated Sinner in the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters, which he had one of the best runs of the season.
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Source: BBC
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