Carlos Alcaraz eased into the last four of the Japan Open on Sunday with a comfortable win over Brandon Nakashima.
Having already brushed off concerns over an ankle injury suffered on Thursday, Alcaraz looked in complete control in a 6-2 6-4 win that put him into the semi-finals of a ninth consecutive tour-level event.
Nakashima could not handle Alcaraz’s serve as he hit 25 winners past the American.
He might have finished it off earlier but failed to capitalise on three match points in what proved to be the penultimate game of the night.
“I always say that closing a match is difficult,” Alcaraz said. “Even tougher when you had match points, like I did when I was returning.
“Losing that game, I thought it was going to be really difficult, but I just tried to maintain my focus and play some great points in the last game. I don’t think I’ve played a last game like this so I’m really happy about it.”
Alcaraz will now take on Casper Ruud, who needed less than an hour to beat Aleksandar Vukic 6-3 6-2.
Second seed Taylor Fritz battled his way past Sebastian Korda 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-3 to set up a semi-final against fellow American Jenson Brooksby, who saw off third seed Holger Rune 6-3 6-3.
In the China Open, Daniil Medvedev reached the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-3 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina as he looks to find some consistency in an up-and-down campaign.
Fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti beat Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-3.
PA
