Attack best form of defence for Alcaraz on way to Japan Open semis

AFP | Tokyo

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Carlos Alcaraz said he had to go on the offensive to protect his injured ankle after beating Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4 yesterday to reach the Japan Open semifinals.

The world No 1 hurt himself during his opening match in Tokyo and he admitted after his next outing that the injury had worried him and was on his mind on the court.

The Spaniard again played with strapping showing above his left sock but it did not appear to trouble him as he brushed aside American world number 33 Nakashima with a brutal display of power tennis.

Alcaraz will face Norway’s world number 12 Casper Ruud in Monday’s semifinals and he said he was “still thinking about the ankle”.

“I had to play more aggressive than normal because I just want to let him run much more than I do in the match,” said Alcaraz.

“You can see that there are some times that I can’t go as fast as I want, I’m just taking care about the steps I’m doing in the match.

“That’s why sometimes I was playing really big shots, because I didn’t want to run from side to side,” he added.

Alcaraz had his service broken three times in his previous night’s win over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.