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Carlos Alcaraz, battling an ankle injury, overpowered Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4 to reach the Japan Open semi-finals, where he will face Casper Ruud in Tokyo.
Carlos Alcaraz pulled off some incredible shots which rendered the Japan Open crowd speechless (AFP)
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz had to change his game plan to protect an injured ankle, but that sure didn’t stop him from treating the Japan crowd to some unreal shot-making.
Alcaraz, battling with an ankle injury, still produced a dominant performance to defeat American Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday and book his place in the Japan Open semi-finals.
The Spaniard first rolled his left ankle during his Tokyo opener and later confessed that the knock had weighed heavily on his mind.
Once again, strapping was visible above his sock, but Alcaraz showed few signs of discomfort as he overpowered Nakashima, the world No. 33, with his trademark aggression.
He never faced a break point, kept control of rallies, and dictated play from start to finish. His power hitting drew gasps from the Tokyo crowd, with several highlight-reel shots bringing them to their feet.
STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOINGCARLOS ALCARAZ HITS ONE OF THE SHOTS OF THE YEAR
IF YOU DON’T LIKE THIS, YOU DON’T LIKE TENNIS
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯pic.twitter.com/x1ooAXxGD6
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 28, 2025
“First of all, I’m a huge fan of tennis, and seeing these kinds of shots—whether they come from me or not—I just enjoy,” he said. “Tonight, there were a few I thought, ‘that was a really good one.’”
From Nervy Start to Clinical Win
Alcaraz had been broken three times in his previous match against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, but against Nakashima, he was relentless.
“I had to play more aggressive than normal because I just want to let him run much more than I do,” Alcaraz explained. “You can see sometimes I can’t go as fast as I want. That’s why I was hitting really big shots—I didn’t want to run side to side.”
Alcaraz now faces world No. 12 Casper Ruud in Monday’s semi-final. Ruud reached the last four after defeating Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2.
In the other semi-final, world No. 5 Taylor Fritz will meet fellow American Jenson Brooksby.
After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term…Read More
After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term… Read More
September 28, 2025, 18:51 is
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