Alcaraz into Japan semis as Gauff wins in China

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Japan Open in Tokyo.

The top seed of Spain dismissed any lingering questions about an ankle injury he sustained in the opening round and fired 39 winners without going through a break point.

As he aims to win his eighth ATP title of a remarkable season, the world number one will face fourth-seeded Casper Ruud from Norway on Monday in the semi-finals.

Alcaraz remarked, “I think I just played unbelievable today, I’m not going to lie.”

“I felt like I could play every shot and do everything on the court.”

Following victories at the US Open earlier this month, Rotterdam, and the Cincinnati Masters, Alcaraz is unbeaten on the way to a fourth hard court title in Japan.

The 22-year-old six-time Grand Slam champion has also won three titles on grass at Queen’s and three at Monte Carlo, Rome, and the French Open in Roland Garros.

However, only third seed Holgar Rune is the only notable player to lose in the quarter-finals, leaving only three of the top four players in the draw for the semi-finals in Tokyo.

Jenson Brooksby, 24, is expected to move up from 86 in the world to at least 57th when the rankings are next updated after his impressive run in Tokyo, to Denmark’s Rune, who lost 6-3, 6-3.

After defeating another American, Sebastian Korda, Brooksby will face compatriot Taylor Fritz, who defeated the second seed 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3).

In a third-round match at the China Open, defending champion Gauff defended his decision to face Fernandez, saying, “I did what I needed to do to win.”

The issues with her serve, which eventually brought the American second seed to tears at the US Open, resurfaced in Beijing after she won a close encounter in three sets, winning 6-4, 4-6, and 7-5.

The 21-year-old, two-time Grand Slam champion, broke seven double faults during the contest.

Both players struggled with their serve, taking 15 total breaks throughout, including eight on the final set, three on Gauff’s serve and five on Fernandez’s.

Gauff split her second match point at 5-2 ahead of the Canadian world number 25 on both occasions, but she rallied at 5-5 to finish the match, sealing victory on her second match point.

In her on-court interview, Gauff said, “We were going back and forth. It was very physical.

“Obviously, I was playing pretty well through the third set.” I could have done better, but I still managed to prevail today.