The reigning champion and world No.3 showed his affection afterwards by signing the camera lens for his rival: ‘Come back soon Dennis.’
Alcaraz is now in the semifinals in Tokyo for the second straight year. He defeated Italian Matteo Arnaldi 7-6 (6), 6-1 and American Alex Michelsen 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-1 and reached the last eight.
The Spaniard, still on his way back from a long injury layoff, said his level was far from where he wanted it to be.
Alcaraz – Munar next
“Well, I think I’ll go too far. That’s far from where I want to be. But I do great things on the court. I’m training well,” he said. “You have to find a way. I’m happy with how I’m playing. I’m happy with how I feel on the court. I hope that the tournaments and matches that await me will be a great test for me. I’ll try to use it to get better and feel better on the court.”
The 46th-ranked Shapovalov had beaten Chile’s Alejandro Tabillo 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 earlier in the tournament and defeated Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro 7-5, 6-1.
Alcaraz will face Spain’s Jaume Munar in the semi-finals, who is a qualifier.
