Carlos Alcaraz cruised past Brandon Nakashima 6-2 6-4 to reach the semifinal at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Tokyo.
Alcaraz dropped eight points in his service games and did not face any break points. The world number 1 player converted three of his seven break points and fired 39 winners to 18 unforced errors.
Alcaraz hit 25 forehand winners to advance to his ninth consecutive ATP Tour level semifinal. The Spaniard achieved his 65th match win of the season, equalling his personal best tally in a single season.
Alcaraz earned an early break with a forehand winner in the first game and went up a double break in the seventh game to extend his lead to 5-2. He hit a service winner on a set point as he was serving for the set at 5-2 and closed out the first set in 31 minutes.
Alcaraz broke serve with a crosscourt forehand winner in the fifth game at deuce to take a 3-2 lead.
Nakashima faced three match points on serve in the ninth game at 5-3 and saved them to extend the match. Alcaraz won four consecutive winners at 5-4 to hold at love and sealed the win in straight sets.
“It’s great to go through, to play another semi-final. It’s special because it’s the first time I am playing here in Japan and here in Tokyo, so to reach the semi-finals in my first appearance is something great. It’s great to go through, to play another semi-final. It’s special because it’s the first time I am playing here in Japan and here in Tokyo, so to reach the semi-finals in my first appearance is something great. Probably it’s the best period of my career. I’m just feeling great on court, every time I step on the court. I just think I can do everything. I’m approaching the end of the season with a lot of confidence and these kinds of matches, this kind of level, helps a lot to keep the confidence high. I’m just trying to set up goals before matches, before tournaments, and trying to follow those goals. I think that helps me a lot to play great tennis and maintain the focus during the match”, said Alcaraz in his post-match interview.
Alcaraz set up a semifinal clash against Casper Ruud, who beat Alexandar Vukic 6-3 6-2. Ruud earned a break in the eighth game to win the first set 6-3.
Ruud went up a double break in the third and fifth games and saved two break points and held serve in the sixth game to race out to a 5-1 lead. The three-time Grand Slam finalist served out the win on his first match point. Alcaraz leads 4-1 in his head-to-head matches against Ruud and beat his Norwegian rival in the final of the.2022 US Open. However Ruud beat Alcaraz in straight sets in their most recent head-to-head clash at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
