ATP Tour

Alcaraz fends off 4 set points, then blitzes Arnaldi for Tokyo QF spot

Carlos Alcaraz had to navigate a dramatic opening set Saturday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, but the defending champion found his clutch best when it mattered the most to continue his run in Tokyo.

The top-seeded Spaniard battled past Matteo Arnaldi 7-6(6), 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 500 event. Alcaraz saved four set points at 2/6 in a gripping opening-set tie-break before breaking serve twice in the second set to seize complete control.

"When you are down in a tie-break, you are thinking about doing something different," Alcaraz said. "Then you are trying to be better in the second set... I just tried to stay there, point after point. I changed how I played until that moment and it worked out. Just happy that I got that first set. Matteo was playing great."

After letting slip a 2-0 lead in the first set and falling behind 2/6 in the tie-break, Alcaraz saved four set points: first with a backhand winner, then after an unforced error from the Italian, before Alcaraz produced a drive-volley winner. Another unforced error from Arnaldi brought the Spaniard level at 6/6.

The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings then produced one of the points of the match, engaging Arnaldi in a thrilling rally before finishing with a backhand smash to carve out his first set point at 7/6 and eventually seal the set.

After his dramatic escape, the Spaniard raised his level and capitalised as Arnaldi struggled to recover. Alcaraz found greater consistency from the baseline and began dictating the rallies, eventually pulling away for victory in one hour and 45 minutes.

By improving to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Arnaldi, Alcaraz earned his seventh straight win at the Japanese ATP 500 event, following his title run on event debut a year ago. The Spaniard is aiming to become the first man to defend his Tokyo title since Pete Sampras in 1993-94.

The next test for the 26-time tour-level titlist Alcaraz in Japan is a quarter-final encounter against Denis Shapovalov. Earlier in the day, Shapovalov battled past Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 11 minutes.

With the victory, the 27-year-old advanced to his 50th tour-level quarter-final to become the third Canadian man to reach that mark in the Open Era after Milos Raonic (81) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (71).