Carlos Alcaraz moved into the semi-finals of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships after surviving a tense opening set against Denis Shapovalov before the Canadian was forced to retire with a hip injury.
The defending champion was leading 7-6(3), 2-1 after 82 minutes when Shapovalov signalled that he could no longer continue. Although the victory came in unfortunate circumstances, Alcaraz had already been pushed hard before his opponent's withdrawal.
The opening set featured six breaks of serve, with neither player able to establish control for long. Shapovalov appeared to have the advantage when he moved 5-3 ahead and earned a set point at 5-4, 30/40.
Alcaraz responded with a perfectly timed drop shot to save the opportunity before fighting his way back into the set. He then took control of the tie-break, winning it 7-3 to secure a crucial advantage.
The Spaniard admitted he was frustrated with his serving but was pleased with how he responded whenever Shapovalov managed to break him.
“It was a little bit frustrating with my serve,” Alcaraz said. “But I’m just happy with the way I came back after every break. It was a great first set: great points, great rallies.”
The match took an unfortunate turn early in the second set when Shapovalov appeared to hurt his hip while stretching for a forehand. After receiving an off-court medical timeout, the Canadian attempted to continue but eventually decided he could not go on.
Alcaraz was clearly disappointed to advance in such circumstances, saying it was not the way he wanted to reach the last four.
“It’s a shame that he had to pull out,” Alcaraz said. “Going through to a semi-final like this is not the way I wanted, but sometimes sports are tough. You have to accept it.”
The result extends Alcaraz's winning streak at the Tokyo ATP 500 tournament to eight matches. He won the title on his previous appearance and is now two victories away from successfully defending his crown.
Standing in his way next is fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar, who booked his place in the semi-finals with a convincing 6-4, 6-2 win over Kyrian Jacquet.
Munar is reaching his eighth career ATP Tour semi-final and his first since Basel last October. His run in Tokyo has already included a first-round upset of third seed Taylor Fritz, helping him climb 15 places to No. 49 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Alcaraz leads Munar 3-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, but Munar's recent form sets up an intriguing all-Spanish battle for a place in the Tokyo final.
