Carlos Alcaraz admitted his level is “far” from where he wants it to be after he progressed to the semi-finals at the 2026 Japan Open

The world No 3 was leading 7-6(3), 2-1 against 46th-ranked Denis Shapovalov when his Canadian opponent was forced to retire due to an injury.

Alcaraz struggled on serve in the opening set as he was broken three times and had to battle back from being a break down at 2-4 and 3-5.

The seven-time major champion saved a set point on his own serve at 4-5, 30-40 before he took the set on a tiebreak.

Shapovalov appeared to hurt his hip at the start of the second set, and he was unable to continue after Alcaraz held for 2-1.

Alcaraz is aiming to win his second consecutive title in Tokyo following his triumph on his debut at the ATP 500 tournament last year.

The Spanish star was sidelined for over four months this year with a right wrist injury before he returned to play the 2026 US Open — where he reached the quarter-finals, losing to eventual runner-up Ben Shelton.

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After advancing to the last four in Tokyo, Alcaraz gave a candid assessment when asked for his thoughts on his level.

“Well, I think I’m gonna say way far — it’s far from where I want to be. But I’m doing great things on the court,” said the 23-year-old.

“I’m practising well. I’m trying to do everything when I’m playing matches, because it’s so different — competition and practices.

“You gotta find a way. I’m happy with the way that I’m playing. Happy with how I’m feeling on court.

“Hopefully the tournaments and matches I have ahead are gonna be a great test for me. I’m gonna try to use it to get better and feel better on court.”

On his serving struggles against Shapovalov, Alcaraz said: “It was a little bit frustrating with my serve.

“I couldn’t find a good way of serving; I was struggling almost every game on serve.

“But I’m just happy with the way I came back after every break. It was a great first set; great points, great rallies.”

Alcaraz also commented on Shapovalov’s retirement.

“It’s a shame that he had to pull out,” he added.

“Going through to a semi-final like this is not the way I wanted, but sometimes sports are tough. You have to accept it. Hopefully he’s going to be able to play in Shanghai healthy.”

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