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Carlos Alcaraz said he had to go on the offensive to protect his injured ankle after beating Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday to reach the Japan Open semi-finals.The world number one hurt himself during his opening match in Tokyo and he admitted after his next outing that the injury had worried him and was on his mind on the court.The Spaniard again played with strapping showing above his left sock but it did not appear to trouble him as he brushed aside American world number 33 Nakashima with a brutal display of power tennis.Alcaraz will face Norway's world number 12 Casper Ruud in Monday's semi-finals and he said he was "still thinking about the ankle"."I had to play more aggressive than normal because I just want to let him run much more than I do in the match," said Alcaraz."You can see that there are some times that I can't go as fast as I want, I'm just taking care about the steps I'm doing in the match."That's why sometimes I was playing really big shots, because I didn't want to run from side to side," he added.Alcaraz had his service broken three times in his previous night's win over Belgium's Zizou Bergs.He gave Nakashima no such help and did not face any break points as he stayed on the front foot all match.Alcaraz is playing in Japan for the first time and he treated the crowd to some outrageous shots that grew gasps from the packed stands."First of all, I'm a huge fan of tennis, and seeing these kinds of shots, if it comes from me or not, I just enjoy," said Alcaraz."Tonight there were a few of them that I was like 'that was a really good one'."Alcaraz said the love he is receiving from the Tokyo crowd is mutual."Really grateful and really happy with the atmosphere that they're creating," he said."I just try to play in a style that I like them to be entertained watching the match."Alcaraz's semi-final opponent Ruud beat Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2.World number five Taylor Fritz will play fellow American Jenson Brooksby in the other semi-final.Fritz, the number two seed, came through a tough quarter-final against another American, Sebastian Korda, winning 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3.Brooksby beat the number three seed, Denmark's Holger Rune, 6-3, 6-3.Fritz, who beat Alcaraz this month at the Laver Cup, said he had struggled with the weather in Tokyo, with temperatures around 27C for his late morning match."I wasn't expecting it to be that hot and humid," he said."Tough to play in that heat and play a lot of physical, long points."

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the US Open semi-finals Tuesday, demolishing Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-2 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.Alcaraz has yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand as he fired off 28 winners and never faced a break point.Lehecka is one of the few players to beat Alcaraz this season, winning in the Doha quarter-finals, but was outclassed this time around and could only watch helplessly as the Spaniard’s forehand winner zipped by on match point.Alcaraz will play the winner of the match later between 24-times major winner Novak Djokovic and American fourth seed Taylor Fritz.Pegula cruises past Krejcikova into US Open semisAmerican Jessica Pegula reached her second straight US Open semi-final with a clinical 6-3 6-3 win over twice Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova Tuesday.Fourth-ranked Pegula had a dreadful run-up to the year’s final major but has flipped the script in New York, where she has yet to drop a set and fired off 17 winners to beat the unseeded Czech.Krejcikova recovered from injuries earlier this year and saved eight match points in a fourth-round thriller to reach the final eight but ran out of gas against the 2024 runner-up.Pegula will face the winner of the match between the defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova.“I feel like I’m just really comfortable,” said Pegula. “It’s pretty crazy... 10 years ago I never thought I’d be good at this (and reach the final stages of a Slam) but I guess I am.”Krejcikova missed an overhead shot in the second game and was seen repeatedly rubbing her eyes as she struggled to deal with fatigue following two bruising back-to-back three-set matches, surrendering her serve with a double fault.She broke back when Pegula sent a backhand into the net in the seventh game but Krejcikova immediately handed the advantage back to the American by dropping her serve again.Pegula broke the Czech to love with a backhand winner down the line in the opening game of the second set.Playing in her first US Open quarter-final in four years, Krejcikova appeared to be heading for a swift defeat as she fell behind 4-1 with Pegula having secured the double break after the errors kept flying off her Czech rival’s racket.Although Krejcikova showed some signs of life as she regained one of the breaks in the sixth game, the effort only delayed the inevitable.Two double faults in the final game capped a miserable day for Krejcikova, while a beaming Pegula soaked in the roaring cheers from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd after wrapping up the lopsided win.Ruthless Sinner routs Bublik under the lightsDefending champion Jannik Sinner said he enjoyed the vibe of playing under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights after he continued his hardcourt Grand Slam run by hammering 23rd seed Alexander Bublik on Monday to make the US Open quarter-finals.The Italian came into the match on Labour Day seeking his 25th straight major match win on his preferred surface and never looked in danger against a tricky rival, bolting out of the blocks to win 6-1 6-1 6-1 on his night session debut this year.“It’s always special to go on Ashe to play,” Sinner said.“Night matches, they’re a bit different because there’s a bit more attention, I feel. It’s a different vibe, also around the court. It’s very loud. It’s also different to play.“It was the first time for me this year. It was nice. You have the good and the bad if you play in the evening. It’s very special and you feel very privileged to step onto court in the night on the biggest court we have.”A mere 81 minutes after the clash began, Sinner was back in the locker room after gaining revenge for a shock defeat by Bublik in the Halle final, his only loss to a player not named Carlos Alcaraz this year.“We know each other well. We’ve had some tough battles this year so we know each other a bit better,” top seed Sinner said. “He had a tough match last time (against Tommy Paul), finishing late. He didn’t serve as well as he does. I broke him in every set and it gave me the confidence to play well.”A double break helped Sinner build a 4-0 lead before Bublik could even get on the board, and the dominant 24-year-old chased down a drop shot to fire home a deep backhand winner that wrapped up the opening set with another break.Bublik’s attempts to disrupt Sinner’s rhythm with more drop shots proved futile but it was his service errors that left him trailing by two sets, before Sinner wheeled away to his eighth straight major quarter-final.Up next is a meeting with compatriot Lorenzo Musetti and Sinner said it would be a great occasion for Italian tennis.“It’s great to see. Italian tennis is in great form. We have so many players and different game styles,” he said. “Lorenzo is one of the biggest talents we have in our sport. I’m looking forward to this one. From an Italian point of view, it’s great to have for sure one Italian player in the semis. “I know that there are a lot of Italian players in the crowd. It makes everything special.”