Alcaraz injures left ankle but advances to Tokyo quarterfinals

Carlos Alcaraz sustained an ankle injury during his opening match at the Japan Open in Tokyo on Thursday but recovered to win and advance, then reached the quarterfinals after a second-round victory on Saturday. The world number one and recent US Open champion hurt his left ankle in the fifth game of his match against Sebastian Baez, received on-court treatment and strapping, and went on to beat Baez 6-4, 6-2 before defeating Zizou Bergs 6-4, 6-3 to move into the last eight.

Alcaraz pulled up after pushing off behind the baseline and fell to the court, clutching his left ankle and the bottom of his left foot. The tournament physiotherapist attended, Alcaraz had his ankle taped and called a medical timeout as play was later suspended because of rain. After receiving treatment and conferring with his team during the delay, he returned under the roof and closed out the first-round match. He said afterwards that he had been frightened by the fall. "I was scared," he said. "When I landed on the ankle, I was worried because it did not feel good at the beginning. I am just happy that I was able to play good tennis after that and finish the match quite well."