Carlos Alcaraz has shared his reaction after he made a stunning escape in the opening set of his second round victory at the 2026 Japan Open.
The world No 3 prevailed 7-6(6), 6-1 against 37th-ranked Matteo Arnaldi at the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo on Saturday.
Alcaraz, who is the reigning Japan Open champion, won six straight points — saving four set points — after trailing 2-6 in the first set tiebreak.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion then broke his 25-year-old Italian opponent twice in a second set he dominated.
In his on-court interview with Tennis TV, Alcaraz revealed what was going through his mind when he was on the brink of losing the opening set tiebreak.
“Well, obviously, when you’re down 6-2 in the tiebreaker, you’re thinking about, ‘all right, I should do something different in the second set, trying to be better and obviously win that in three sets’,” said the 23-year-old.
“But, you know, obviously, I tried to stay there, point after point. I think I changed a little bit, you know, how I played until that moment and it worked out. So, just happy that I got the first set.
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“I think he was playing an unbelievable game. I think he was killing the forehand and I was out of the zone every time. So, I’m just, as I said, happy that I got it.
“Obviously, that made me come back on court in the second set more relaxed, you know, thinking about the things that I got to do, that I worked out from the 6-2 until the 8-6 in the tiebreaker.
“And I think everything went pretty well. He made a couple of mistakes and made me go into the game again. So, just happy that I won in straight sets.”
The Spaniard was also asked about the pressure of his opponents feeling like they have nothing to lose against him
“Well, I mean, obviously, I would say every, you know, every player that played against me, they feel like they have to increase their level a little bit if they want to win,” Alcaraz said.
“I would say it is a compliment for me. That means, you know, I have a great tennis, you know, on court. But, you know, I got to be ready for that. I got to be ready for everything they can do every time they step on the court.”
Alcaraz then looked ahead to his quarter-final showdown with Denis Shapovalov.
“So, I know Denis, he plays a great tennis, really aggressive one,” he added. “So, I got to be ready to run, to defend, to attack, you know, everything that the match demands me to do. So, let’s see.
“I think it’s going to be a great match. I’m really looking forward to playing him once again.”
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