Alcaraz reaches quarters; Sinner survives to sink qualifier, Swiatek starts Beijing bid

Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Zizou Bergs on Saturday and then paid tribute to his physiotherapist following an ankle injury scare.

The top-ranked Alcaraz landed awkwardly on his left ankle during his opening match on Thursday and was unsure how he would feel against Bergs.

He held up well, saying he “could play normally,” and set up a last-eight meeting with Brandon Nakashima of the United States.

“It was tough and it was a really important day and a half I had to recover as good as I could,” Alcaraz said when asked about his ankle. “I have said it before and I will say it again, I have the best physio in the world, who I trust 100%.

Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner survived a scare to sink French qualifier Terence Atmane at the China Open on Saturday as Iga Swiatek launched her title bid and home player Zheng Qinwen returned from injury.

The world number two Italian beat Atmane 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 and will face 57th-ranked Fabian Marozsan of Hungary in the quarter-finals in Beijing.

Sinner said he lost concentration during the second set but quickly recovered to steamroll past 68th-ranked Atmane in the decider.

“I started off very well in the third set then I saw (Atmane) struggling a bit physically,” he said.

“It’s not how you want to win a match but very happy to be again in the next round.”

Atmane declared it would be a fight with two aces in the first game and made Sinner work for the first set.

The Frenchman sent down six more aces in the second and broke the 24-year-old Sinner to force a deciding set.

With Atmane flagging, Sinner raced to victory.

In the women’s draw, qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus stunned 14th-ranked Naomi Osaka of Japan, the four-time major champion.

The 31-year-old world no. 130 fought back to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

It was more routine elsewhere as world number two Swiatek breezed past China’s Yuan Yue, cruising into round three with a 6-0, 6-3 victory.

The top seed from Poland next faces Colombia’s Camila Osorio, ranked 83rd.

Swiatek broke early to set the tone for a one-sided match against Yuan, winning the first set without dropping a game when the Chinese wildcard fired long.

Cheered on by her home crowd, the world no. 110 made a better fist of it in the second set but Swiatek wrapped things up when Yuan returned into the net.

The crowd had more to cheer when fan favourite Zheng marked her return to competition by beating Colombia’s Emiliana Arango 6-3, 6-2.

The world number nine last played at Wimbledon in July, when she was beaten in round one by Czech player Katerina Siniakova.

“I’m really happy to play in front of my home crowd especially, coming from injury, two months without competition,” the 22-year-old said.

“I wasn’t in my best shape,” she said. “I still have maybe 10 percent left, or 20 percent left of my speed.”

Zheng next plays the Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova, ranked 27th.

Six-time major champion Swiatek is the top seed in Beijing after world number one Aryna Sabalenka withdrew injured.

Swiatek won the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament in 2023 but missed the competition last year citing personal matters.

It later transpired she had accepted a one-month doping ban after testing positive for a prohibited substance.

Agencies