ALCARAZ AIDED BY 'BEST PHYSIO'

World No. I's injured ankle holds up well as he progresses in Japan; Sinner passes tricky China test

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Carlos Alcaraz showed no sign of being hampered by an ankle injury as he beat Belgium's Zizou Bergs 6-4, 6-3 on Sept 27 to reach the Japan Open quarterfinals.

The world No. 1 hurt himself two days earlier in his opening match in Tokyo, crumpling to the ground before playing on with his ankle heavily strapped.

The Spaniard was left sweating on his fitness, but he showed no evidence of discomfort as he returned to the court to beat world No. 45 Bergs in front of an adoring Japanese crowd.

He got the job done in 1hr 20min and will face American Brandon Nakashima in the last eight on Sept 28.

"Well, it was tough. It was a really important day and a half - I had to recover as good as I can," said Alcaraz, 22.

"I said it before and I'm gonna say it again. I would say I have the best physio in the world, which I trust 100 per cent.

"The work he's done for the ankle has been great... sometimes I was worried about some movement on court where I could feel the ankle.

"In general, I think I played a great match, good performance from my side. I was thinking about the ankle a little bit but overall just really happy about my performance."