Carlos Alcaraz overcomes dramatic fall to advance in Tokyo
Carlos Alcaraz’s Tokyo debut had everything: a fall, a medical timeout, a rain delay, and ultimately, a reminder of why he’s World No. 1.
The Spaniard overcame an early injury scare before settling into his rhythm to defeat Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday evening at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.
Midway through the opening set, Alcaraz crumpled to the court while chasing a forehand, clutching his left ankle and heel in clear distress. The 22-year-old sat grimacing for several minutes as physios rushed to his aid, eventually strapping his ankle heavily before he returned to the court.
“I was scared too, I’m not gonna lie,” Alcaraz admitted after the match. “When I planted the ankle, I was worried, because it didn’t feel good at the beginning. I’m just happy that I was able to play good tennis after that and finish the match quite good.”
The US Open champion looked tentative on his return, briefly surrendering serve before gradually regaining his footing. Just as he steadied, another twist arrived — a 30-minute rain delay at 5-4 in the first set. Rather than disrupt him further, the pause seemed to sharpen his resolve.
Returning with reinforced strapping, Alcaraz closed out the opener and accelerated through the second set with trademark power and precision.
“I couldn’t do anything at all during the first five minutes [after] I did it,” Alcaraz said of the fall. “I was worried that I wouldn’t have the confidence to finish the match, but the physio came and did some tests. It was good I could walk to the bench and that gave me confidence [to continue]. I’m trying to have a warrior mentality in every match, in every aspect of everything.”
That mindset carried him across the line in straight sets, improving his Lexus ATP Head2Head record over Baez to 3-0 and extending his Tour-leading tally to 63 match wins and seven titles in 2025.
The top seed now faces Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the second round, after the world No. 86 rallied past in-form Chengdu champion Alejandro Tabilo 1-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4). Alcaraz, meanwhile, will be aiming to join 12 fellow ATP No. 1 Club members who have lifted the Tokyo trophy.
Elsewhere, third seed Casper Ruud endured a rocky start against Japanese wild card Shintaro Mochizuki before regrouping to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
The Norwegian, currently 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, insists a push for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals has not yet crossed his mind, though his performance suggested otherwise.
For Alcaraz, Thursday was less about rankings or records and more about resilience. What began with genuine fear ended with a statement: even on one good ankle, the World No. 1 remains the man to beat in Tokyo.
