Alcaraz wins in his Tokyo debut; Nishikori retires from tennis

Alcaraz, who since mid-April had only played the U.S. Open in August and the Laver Cup, an exhibition tournament, last weekend because of a wrist injury, defeated American Alex Michelsen (No. 34) 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-1.

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AFP

1 de octubre, 2026

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Despite playing a very inconsistent match, world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz advanced Thursday to the second round of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo, the event in which local idol Kei Nishikori bid farewell to professional tennis.

Alcaraz, who since mid-April had only played in the U.S. Open in August and the Laver Cup, an exhibition tournament, last weekend due to a wrist injury, defeated American Alex Michelsen (No. 34) 7-6 (7/1), 4-6 and 6-1.

After falling behind 4-2 in the first set, the defending champion had to save three set points on his serve with the score at 5-4 in favor of Michelsen, a recent quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open, to ultimately win the first set in a tiebreak after nearly an hour and a quarter of grueling effort.

In the second set, he was only able to hold serve twice, and despite breaking his opponent's serve twice, he couldn't prevent the match from going to a third set against an opponent he was facing for the first time.

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It was in that third set that the best Alcaraz, winner of seven Grand Slam tournaments, emerged, winning the first five games in just 20 minutes, shortly before sealing the victory after two and a half hours of play.

His next opponent will be Italy's Matteo Arnaldi (No. 37), a semifinalist at Roland Garros in June.

Kei Nishikori withdraws

On Thursday, the defending runner-up in Tokyo, American Taylor Fritz (No. 12), was upset by Spain's Jaume Munar (No. 64 and coming out of the qualifying rounds), who won 6-7 (7/9), 6-4 and 6-3.

Denmark's Holger Rune, returning to the tour after a long injury layoff, lost in his debut, as did Norway's Casper Ruud, the tournament's sixth seed.

Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas continues his upward trajectory, defeating Argentine Tomás Etcheverry in three sets, 4-6, 6-3 and 6-4.

Meanwhile, former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori, an Olympic bronze medalist at Rio 2016, ended his career after losing 6-4, 6-4 to American Frances Tiafoe (No. 8).