Alcaraz ankle passes Tokyo test

Carlos Alcaraz gave his dodgy left ankle a thorough workout on Monday, with the top seed coming back to defeat Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Tuesday final of the Japan Open.

The world No. 1 will continue his Tokyo debut as he plays for his ninth trophy of the season against Taylor Fritz after the Californian booked his spot 6-4, 6-3 over Jenson Brooksby.

Alcaraz played it safe after rolling his ankle in the first round here last week. But the 22-year-old showed he’s on full fitness with his fightback against Norway’s Ruud.

The odd scheduling of the entire Asian swing is designed to give the upcoming Shanghai Masters a clean run at the controversial new 12-to-13-day format.

Complaints have been mounting of the calendar experiment, with the ATP facing player blow-back and fan confusion as classic weekend final scheduling goes out the window in an attempt to generate further tournament profits. 

Fritz and Alcaraz have played twice this season, with the American winning nine days ago at the Laver Cup while Alcaraz took victory in their Wimbledon semi-final.

“I had a lot of chances in the first set; four break points. It’s just about details, so I just tried to be more positive than the first set.

“I was a little bit mad with myself, so I just tried to play with joy again, putting a lot of positive thoughts in my mind.”

The top seed advanced in just over two hours with his 66th victory of 2025.

With his two-hour, eight-minute victory, Alcaraz notched his personal-best 66th 

“I know he’s playing great tennis lately,” Alcaraz said of his final with Fritz. “H’s feeling great and really comfortable on the court. Everything is different since San Francisco…

“But it’s another challenge for me and I’m looking forward to it.”

Fritz accounted for Brooksby with help from 13 aces as he reached his first hard-court final this season

“I served insanely well: High percentage first serves and spots too. It felt like any game that I didn’t hit three aces, he was really outplaying me from the baseline. 

“I was able to hang in on my serve, and then capitalise on that scoreboard pressure.

My serve got me through it.”