A bumper day of action on the ATP and WTA Tours at the China Open and Japan Open saw Carlos Alcaraz and Brits Harriet Dart and Sonay Kartal win. But there were defeats for Cam Norrie and Arthur Fery.
Alcaraz saved three set points before clinching a see-sawing opening set against American Alex Michelsen with a strong display in the tiebreak but continued to experiment with his new sped-up service motion and was broken twice early in the next set.
The 23-year-old Spaniard, who had shown glimpses of his best form en route to the US Open quarter-finals last month after his long injury layoff, recovered to move ahead but a double fault in the seventh game handed Michelsen a route back.
Michelsen capitalised and kept his composure in a tense finish to the second set where a fortunate netcord winner left Alcaraz stranded at the baseline and helped the 22-year-old American force a decider.
Alcaraz, who led Team Europe to a Laver Cup triumph over Team World on indoor courts in London last weekend, said the relentless rain in Tokyo limited his practice.
“It was a different feeling. The ball comes bigger. The court performs a little bit slower than the indoor courts for sure, so it was freaky to adjust to that,” Alcaraz said.
“It was a little bit frustrating, not being able to play my game, my style, and play aggressive … it was difficult but I’m really happy to accept and understand how I had to play and to get the win at the end.
“It was really important to have this feeling for the next round, to know what I have to do for the next matches.”
A couple of breathtaking points gave Alcaraz a 2-0 lead in the final set and the seven-times Grand Slam champion used the launch pad to close out a comfortable victory on a day of big upsets in the ATP 500 tournament.
The top seed’s win came after third seed Taylor Fritz fell to qualifier Jaume Munar 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-3, sixth seed Casper Ruud lost to Luciano Darderi 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 and seventh seed Tommy Paul suffered a 6-1 6-2 defeat by Alejandro Tabilo.
Holger Rune, the former world No 4 who is stepping up his comeback from an Achilles injury, also crashed out in a 6-3 6-1 loss to Kyrian Jacquet.
Exits for Norrie and Fery as Dart, Kartal progress
Norrie was beaten 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 by newly-crowned US Open champion Alexander Zverev in the first round of the China Open in Beijing.
The Briton blew a set point opportunity then collapsed in the subsequent tie-break after taking the first point.
Zverev, who is intent on closing in on world No 1 Jannik Sinner, who is not playing in China, grabbed the crucial break in the ninth game of the second set before sealing his victory.
It was Zverev’s ninth consecutive main tour victory over Norrie, who was playing his first match since his disappointing early exit at Flushing Meadows.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
British No 1 Fery was bundled out of the Japan Open in the first round with a shock 4-6 6-3 4-6 loss to Portugal’s Jaime Faria.
Fery was originally scheduled to open the tournament against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, but the world No 25 was a late withdrawal from the tournament due to a finger injury.
He was replaced by world No 68 Faria, who took a surprise early lead in Tokyo before Fery was able to settle and force a deciding third set.
However he was unable to break Faria’s serve in the final set as the Portuguese wrapped up the win in just over two hours.
At the women’s China Open, Kartal picked up her first victory on tour since March with a straight sets 6-2 6-3 victory over Spain’s Andrea Lazaro Garcia, progressing to the second round.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Fellow Brit Dart also made it through to the second round, but had to come through a three-hour epic up against China’s Qu Yihan in Beijing.
The 30-year-old Londoner eventually progressed via a 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 success.
Japan’s Nishikori bids farewell to pro career
Kei Nishikori had an emotional farewell to his professional career in Tokyo as he lost 6-4 6-4 to second-seeded Frances Tiafoe.
The 36-year-old Nishikori, a former US Open finalist with a career-high ranking of No. 4, said earlier in the week that he had mixed feelings about in his last elite-level tournament on home soil.
“I am excited to play in Japan but I also know this is my last moment,” he said. “So, it’s kind of sad.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Nishikori announced in May that he planned to retire at the end of the year and was granted a wild card entry to the Japan Open, which he won in 2012 and 2014.
Nishikori missed the Australian Open in January with right shoulder pain and has been affected by injuries the last several years. He also missed last year’s US Open.
Making his professional debut in 2007, Nishikori became the first Japanese player to advance to the final of a Grand Slam men’s singles tournament when he reached the championship decider at the 2014 US Open in New York, which he lost in straight sets to Marin Cilic.
Stream tennis with no contract on NOW and the Sky Sports App. You can watch the ATP Japan Open, WTA/ATP China Open and ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters live on Sky Sports.