World number one Carlos Alcaraz beat American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 to win the Japan Open – but later said he won’t play in this week’s Shanghai Masters.
The win in Tokyo gave the Spaniard[1] his eighth ATP title of the year.
Soon after, Alcaraz posted on Instagram saying he will not play in Shanghai, which starts on Tuesday.
“Sadly, I’ve been having some physical problems. After talking with my team, we decided the best thing is to rest and recover,” he wrote.
Alcaraz hurt his left ankle during his first match in Tokyo last Thursday.
However, in the final, he didn’t show any signs of injury. He broke Fritz’s serve to go up 5-4 and then served out the first set.
Fritz had treatment on his left thigh twice but came back for the second set. Alcaraz took control, breaking the American twice to go 4-1 up.
Fritz tried to fight back and broke once, but it wasn’t enough to stop Alcaraz, who has now won three titles in a row – Cincinnati, the US Open, and Tokyo – since losing to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon in July.
Alcaraz reached the quarter-finals in Shanghai last year, but won’t play this time.
His victory in Tokyo was his 67th match win this season, closing in on Sinner’s total of 73.
Sinner Reaches China Open Final
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner made it to the final of the China Open in Beijing. He beat Alex de Minaur 6-3 4-6 6-2.
Sinner is hoping to win the tournament again after lifting the trophy in 2023. He lost last year’s final to Alcaraz.
Sinner will face 19-year-old American Learner Tien in the final on Wednesday. Tien reached his first ATP final after Russian Daniil Medvedev retired in their semi-final.
Medvedev won the first set 7-5, but Tien fought back to take the second set 7-5.
In the final set, Medvedev started cramping and was warned by the umpire for not trying hard enough. This led to a tense exchange.
Medvedev said, “I’m giving my best. Who are you to decide? Why does every referee try to intimidate me? After the US Open, I’m trying to be good.”
Medvedev, who was fined $42,500 for his behaviour at the US Open, retired from the match while Tien was leading 4-0 in the third set.