World number one Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the second round of the Japan Open on Thursday but was left concerned after twisting his ankle during a 6-4, 6-2 win over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez.The US Open champion fell awkwardly while chasing a ball in the opening set and needed a medical timeout. His left ankle was strapped before he continued. Though he managed to recover and move freely, Alcaraz admitted the injury could affect the rest of his campaign.“If it can affect the rest of the tournament, I don’t know,” Alcaraz said after the match, as quoted by AFP. “It’s going to be an important day and a half that I have ahead for me before the next match. We will see what happens. I will do whatever it takes to be in good shape and ready to play in the next round.”The Spaniard, playing his first tournament in Tokyo, said the fall left him worried initially. “I was worried because the first minutes of playing, my ankle didn’t feel good at all. But then after all I started to feel a little bit better. I could walk to the bench, which for me was a relief,” he explained.
Alcaraz will face Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the second round on Saturday.Meanwhile in Beijing, world number two Jannik Sinner marked his return to action with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Croatia’s Marin Cilic at the China Open. The Italian, who lost the US Open final earlier this month, said he was pleased to be competing again.“We did a lot of work to be back in this position again, so I’m very happy,” Sinner said. “I missed the competition. Of course, you are nervous, you have doubts and it’s normal… but you have to be also excited to go again on court. At the moment I feel great physically and mentally, which is the most important.”
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The 24-year-old added that breaking Cilic early in the match gave him confidence. “Big respect to him. I managed to break him quite early, which then gave me the confidence to continue,” Sinner noted.Next, Sinner faces Frenchman Terence Atmane in round two as he bids for a third straight final appearance in Beijing.
