Alcaraz advances to the semifinals of the 2025 Japan Open

Carlos Alcaraz showed once again that his ankle sprain did not hinder his performance by beating American Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the 2025 Japan Open.

The world No. 1 sustained an injury in his opening match in Tokyo and admitted after the next match that he was concerned about it and it distracted him on court.

The Spanish star continued playing with a bandage rising above the cuff of his left sock, but it seemed not to interfere as he secured another comfortable win.

Alcaraz took just 1 hour and 20 minutes to win and will face the world No. 12 from Norway, Casper Ruud, in the semifinal on Monday.

“I think I played unbelievably today, I won’t hide that,” Alcaraz said. “I felt like I could do everything on the court, hit every shot.”

In his previous win over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, Alcaraz was broken three times. However, this time he gave Nakashima no chances, quickly taking the first set amid Tokyo’s enthusiastic crowd support.

World No. 33 Nakashima tried to regain control in the second set but was broken in the fifth game by Alcaraz and couldn’t recover.

Although missing three match points, Alcaraz made no errors in the next game, sealing the victory with a powerful forehand that landed just inside the baseline.

Alcaraz’s semifinal opponent, Casper Ruud, defeated Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2.

In the other semifinal, world No. 5 Taylor Fritz will face fellow American Jenson Brooksby.

Second seed Fritz overcame a tough quarterfinal against compatriot Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3. Meanwhile, Brooksby beat third seed Holger Rune of Denmark 6-3, 6-3.

Fritz, who recently defeated Alcaraz at this month’s Laver Cup, said he struggled with the weather conditions in Tokyo, where the temperature was around 27°C during the late morning match.

“I didn’t expect it to be so hot and humid,” he said. “It’s tough to play under those conditions and to have to engage in many long rallies that drain your energy.”