Carlos Alcaraz secures 200th tour victory after cruising past Tallon Griekspoor 6-1, 6-2 at the China Open on Sunday. The triumph qualified Alcaraz to feature in the quarterfinals, making him the second player born in the 21st Century to hit the 200-win mark after Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“I’m really happy about it,” exclaims the 2003-born Spaniard. “200 wins is a great number. But I am already looking for the third hundred. I just want to keep going, to keep rolling. I am looking forward to playing matches and to keep doing things that I am doing.”
Alcaraz won 100 percent of his first-serve points (23 of 23), continuing his fine form in 2024, and needed only 57 minutes to defeat Griekspoor, who had two winners to go with 24 unforced errors. The quarterfinals will see second-seeded Alcaraz face Russian Karen Khachanov, who slugged it out with Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the 7-6 (4), 7-6 (9). Seventh-seeded Khachanov forced a win despite 22 unforced errors against 17 winners.
In another match, Chinese wild card Bu Yunchaokete upset sixth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-2, 6-4. Other features in the quarterfinals included Top Seed Sinner of Italy and third-seeded Danill Medvedev of Russia. Meanwhile, Japan Open advances to the semi-finals as some of the game's top seeds lock horns with another Asian nation.
Japan Open Runs Alongside Beijing Open, Reaches Semi-Finals
Sixth-seeded Holgar Rune of Denmark knocked out Japanese favorite Kei Nishikori 306, 602, 7-5 in the quarterfinals in Tokyo. Nikihori, a two-time Tokyo champion, lost to Rune in the two-hour, 16-minute match. Rune also converted four of nine break opportunities despite having 46 unforced errors.
The other participants slated for the Japan Open's semi-finals include Czech Tomas Machac and France's Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert. Machac defeated American Alex Michelson in a 7-6 (2), 6-3 Humbert's quarterfinal berth saw him advance to the semi-final after Great Britain's Jack Draper, who was down a set and a game, pulled out with an injury. His injury, identified as an "abdominal issue" however, could well be his last in his professional tennis career.
The British men’s No.1 retired from the Japan Open quarterfinal after receiving treatment on his abdominal area following a failed attempt to continue his fight. Draper vomited three times in the second set after battling with the heat and humidity at Flushing Meadows.
He had secured his place in Sunday's quarterfinal following a dominant straight-sets win over No. 3 seed Hubert Hurkacz on Friday, his third win against a top-109-ranked opponent this season. Humbert will face Tomas Machac in the semi-final while Arthur Fills and Horlgar Rune will battle it in the other half for a place in the final.
Final Remarks
Carlos Alcaraz secures 200th tour victory after Beijing win as China Open reaches quarterfinal stage. Alcaraz welcomes the win while admitting his gaze is on his "next hundred" wins. Meanwhile, another Asia-hosted competition, the Japan Open, is in its semi-final stage.