Carlos Alcaraz of Spain advanced to his ninth consecutive ATP Tour semifinal with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima at the Japan Open on Sunday.
The World No. 1, Alcaraz didn’t face a break point and tallied 25 winners on his dominant forehand alone in Tokyo. The Spaniard is seeking his eighth tour win of the season and equaled his personal season record of 65 match wins.
In the semis, Alcaraz will meet No. 4 seed Casper Ruud of Norway, a 6-3, 6-2 winner against Aleksandar Vukic of Australia.
The other semifinal will feature a pair of Americans — No. 2 seed Taylor Fritz, who won in Tokyo in 2022, and unseeded Jenson Brooksby. In the quarterfinals, Fritz eliminated Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3. Brooksby upset No. 3 seed Holger Rune of Denmark 6-3, 6-3.
China Open
Amid a frustrating season that saw him bottom out with a contentious first-round loss at the U.S. Open last month, Russian Daniil Medvedev is taking steps along the comeback trail.
Medvedev, the No. 8 seed in Beijing, defeated Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-3. Medvedev played under control with just 12 unforced errors to go with his 10 winners. A change of coaches since the U.S. Open perhaps has brought back some of the game of the Medvedev who once was ranked No. 1 in the world.
He will have a test in the quarterfinal when he meets No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, who defeated Corentin Moutet of France 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
Also advancing to the quarterfinals were Learner Tien, who defeated Italy’s Francisco Cobolli 6-3, 6-2. In the next round, he will meet another Italian, No. 4 seed Lorenzo Musetti, who beat France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3.
–Field Level Media
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