Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the semi-finals of the Japan Open on Sunday after Denis Shapovalov was forced to retire through injury early in the second set of their quarter-final.
Alcaraz led 7-6(3) 2-1 when the Canadian called a halt to the contest, ending a match that had swung back and forth through a tightly contested opening set. The Spaniard struggled to hold serve in the first set, which featured six breaks in total. Shapovalov looked poised to take the advantage after moving 5-3 ahead and later earning a set point on Alcaraz's serve at 5-4, but the world number three held firm to stay alive.
Shapovalov was unable to serve out the set at 5-3 as Alcaraz broke back, and the Spaniard then missed a chance to close it out himself when he was broken to love while serving at 6-5. After a series of momentum shifts, Alcaraz elevated his level in the tiebreak to take the opener and seize control of the match.
The turning point came at the start of the second set when Shapovalov appeared to suffer a hip problem while chasing down a forehand. He took a medical timeout off court after the opening game and returned briefly, but was unable to continue.
The victory extended Alcaraz's winning streak at the ATP 500 event to eight matches following his title-winning run on debut last year. Alcaraz will next face fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar, who beat French qualifier Kyrian Jacquet 6-4 6-2 to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final since Basel last October.