ATP Tour

Alcaraz makes 'kind of freaky' adjustment to down Michelsen in Tokyo opener

Carlos Alcaraz’s return to court at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships on was far from perfect, but the Spaniard nonetheless dug deep to kick-start his title defence on Thursday in Tokyo.

The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Alcaraz overcame Alex Michelsen 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-1 to book his second-round spot at the hard-court ATP 500. Despite dropping serve five times against a spirited opponent in World No. 34 Michelsen, the 23-year-old Alcaraz raised his level at key moments and ultimately accelerated through the final set for a two-hour, 31-minute win.

“I was unable to practise outside [because of the rain] until the warmup this morning and I hadn’t played any points outdoors for a long time, so it was quite different,” Alcaraz, who last weekend spearheaded Team Europe’s Laver Cup triumph on indoor courts in London, said. “It was a different feeling. I think the ball comes bigger. I think the court performs a little bit slower than the indoor courts for sure, so it was kind of freaky to adjust myself to that, to adjust my game.

“It was a little bit frustrating, not being able to play my game, my style, and play aggressive… It was quite difficult but I’m just really happy to accept and understand how I had to play, and to get the win at the end. It was really important to have this feeling for the next round, to know what I have to do for the next matches.”

With victory in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Michelsen, Alcaraz improved to 6-0 inside Tokyo’s Ariake Coliseum after his title run on event debut a year ago. Awaiting the 26-time tour-level champion next in the Japanese capital will be Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

Competing in just his third event since missing four months with a wrist injury, Alcaraz quickly found himself 2-4 down against Michelsen. From there, the Spaniard won four of the next five games, although he crucially saved three break points when serving at 4-5. Having then himself failed to serve out the set at 6-5, Alcaraz ramped up the pressure on his opponent in trademark fashion in the tie-break, striking cleanly off both wings to move a set ahead.

Michelsen, who last month reached his first major quarter-final at the US Open, was not deterred by his first-set disappointment. In a see-saw second set, the American broke in the opening game, then reeled off four consecutive games from 2-4 down to level the match and maintain the possibility of an upset.

Yet the American’s hopes were quickly dashed in the decider. Producing his best tennis of the match by some distance, Alcaraz raced into a 5-0 lead and began to sprinkle in some of the shotmaking quality for which he is renowned. The highlight was arguably his stunning backhand slice winner from a seemingly impossible angle to bring up his first break point of the set at 1-0, 30/30.

Now 28-4 for the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Alcaraz will next aim to extended his perfect winning record against Arnaldi, whom he previously defeated at the 2023 US Open and in Indian Wells in 2024.

After Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul all lost in the first round in Tokyo, Alcaraz is the only seed remaining in the top half of the draw. If he can beat Arnaldi, former Top-10 star Denis Shapovalov is a potential third-round opponent, after the Canadian on Thursday began his campaign by downing home favourite Sho Shimabukuro 7-5, 6-1. Shapovalov’s second-round opponent in Japan will be Alejandro Tabilo, who upset seventh seed Paul on Wednesday.