Several players who competed in last weekend’s Laver Cup have struggled to make their mark after long flights to Asia to play in China and Japan, but Carlos Alcaraz was never likely to follow that trail of gloom.
Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas also lost their opening matches after playing at the Laver Cup.
So the warning signs were flashing for Alcaraz as he took on Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, yet he marched to a 6-4 6-4 win in impressive fashion.
“The plan was just to put as many returns in as I can,” said Alcaraz. “Honestly it wasn’t easy. He was serving 230 or 240 [km/h] almost every serve. Second set, 210 or 215. So, it wasn’t easy to play against him.
“He’s a really powerful player. Big serve, big shots from the baseline. So I had to be really focused. That was the plan. Try to not make too many mistakes and play aggressively from the baseline.”
“In the first game of the match, I returned pretty well and played good points from the baseline. In the first game of the second set, he did three double faults, so it helped me a lot to break the serve.
“After that, I had to be really focused for the next games, and I’m really happy I did it.”
The win keeps Alcaraz in the hunt to overhaul Alexander Zverev, who is currently sitting in second place in the ATP Rankings, with the German opting out of tournament play this week as he rests up after the Laver Cup.
Moving up to second place in the rankings will be crucial to Alcaraz, as it could avoid a semi-final meeting with world No 1 Jannik Sinner and he still has an outside chance to overhaul the Italian to finis the year as world No 1.
Another player making a rankings leap is Britain’s Jack Draper, who enjoyed a statement win at the Japan Open by beating second seed Hubert Hurkacz.
The British number one, playing his first ATP Tour tournament since his run to the semi-finals of the US Open earlier this month, beat the world number eight 6-4 6-4 in Tokyo to make it through to the quarter-finals.
It was his third win against a top 10 player this year, having earlier beaten Carlos Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur.
Next up is a winnable last-eight tie against France’s Ugo Humbert, who defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-3 6-2, and Draper will have eyes on a second ATP Tour title of the year.
The 22-year-old was strong from the off, forcing a break point in the opening game, only for Hurkacz to serve himself out of trouble.
But Draper got the break midway through the first set, which proved enough for him to go in front, and he did the same in the second as he enjoyed a straight-sets win.
The world number 20 lost both his matches playing for Great Britain in Davis Cup last week but has bounced back well in Japan, and he said: “I was pleased with a lot of things today.
“I thought my attitude was really good, I got myself out of some tough situations and played the big points on my terms. That’s something that I’ve wanted to do
“I know when he gets time on the ball, he’s so dangerous and probably the best serve in the world right now so really happy with my composure, the way I approached the game, and hopefully I can carry on this form.
“I’ve had a long summer but it’s important to me to bring good energy to every match.”
Draper has already made a breakthrough into the top 20 of the WTA Rankings, but he will believe a year-end top ten finish could be within his grasp if he shines on indoor hardcourts over the next few weeks.
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