ATP Tour

Alcaraz advances to Tokyo SF after Shapovalov retires

Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the semi-finals of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships on Sunday after Denis Shapovalov retired from their quarter-final clash.

The defending champion had been pushed hard by Shapovalov but led 7-6(3), 2-1 when the Canadian retired after 82 minutes. The opening set featured six breaks of serve, with Shapovalov squandering a 5-3 lead. The Canadian had a set point on return at 5-4, 30/40, but Alcaraz saved it with a drop shot before producing an exhilarating tie-break to escape danger and take the lead.

“It was a little bit frustrating with my serve. I couldn’t find a good way of serving: I was struggling almost every game on serve,” Alcaraz, who dropped serve three times in the first set, said. “But I’m just happy with the way I came back after every break. It was a great first set: Great points, great rallies.”

Shapovalov had attempted to close out the set behind his serve at 5-3, only for Alcaraz to break back. The defending champion then had an opportunity to serve for the set himself at 6-5, but Shapovalov responded with a break to love. Alcaraz, however, found some rhythm in the tie-break to finally move ahead.

Shapovalov appeared to suffer an injury at the start of the second set when he stretched for a forehand on the run and pulled his hip. He took an off-court medical timeout after the opening game and returned to the court, but was unable to continue.

“It’s a shame that he had to pull out," Alcaraz added. "Going through to a semi-final like this is not the way I wanted, but sometimes sports are tough. You have to accept it. Hopefully he’s going to be able to play in Shanghai healthy.”

Alcaraz has now won eight consecutive matches at the ATP 500 event, having lifted the trophy on his debut in 2025. The 23-year-old will take a 3-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead into his next match against qualifier Jaume Munar, who earlier advanced with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Kyrian Jacquet.

Munar is into his eighth ATP Tour semi-final, and first since Basel last October. The Spaniard, who defeated third seed Taylor Fritz in the first round, is now up 15 spots to No. 49 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.