Alcaraz in Tokyo Tennis Semi-finals.. and Sabalenka and Zverev Exit Beijing

Alcaraz, the defending champion, will face his compatriot Jaume Munar, ranked 64th in the world, who ended the run of France's Kyrian Jacquet, ranked 86th globally, by defeating him 6-4 and 6-2.

Until the moment of withdrawal, the match was evenly contested, as Alcaraz appeared for a long time affected by his opponent's diverse playing style, which alternated between long and short balls, and powerful or carefully directed shots.

After Alcaraz, in his previous match against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi, was forced to save four set points in the first set, this time he had to fend off a single set point against his opponent when trailing 4-5.

After an hour and three minutes of play, the Spaniard claimed the first set 7-6 (7-3). However, the match ended quickly following the Canadian player's injury.

In Tokyo, Alcaraz is playing his third tournament since returning from injury.

The world number three had been sidelined due to a right wrist injury between April and the end of August, before returning to competition at the US Open, the final Grand Slam tournament, where he exited in the quarter-finals.

Monaco's Valentin Vacherot, seeded eighth in the tournament, pulled off a surprise by eliminating France's Arthur Fils after defeating him 7-5, 4-6, and 6-4, setting up a semi-final clash with Czech Jiri Lehecka, who defeated Paraguay's Daniel Vallejo 6-1 and 6-1.

Fils seemed to be on his way to easily sealing the first set against his heavy-serving opponent, ranked 18th in the world, when he earned two set points while leading 5-3.

However, the Frenchman then collapsed, losing the next four games to hand Vacherot the first set after the latter returned a serve with a brilliant shot on the line.

Fils forced a deciding set after a fierce battle, exciting the fans with his usual gestures, but ultimately succumbed after a close match lasting two hours and 20 minutes.

For his part, Lehecka, ranked 23rd globally, cruised into the semi-finals by sweeping Vallejo 6-1 and 6-1, wrapping up the match in under an hour.

Beijing Tournament

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, world number two, bowed out of the Beijing 1000 tournament early, exiting in the third round following a 4-6, 3-6 defeat yesterday to Czechia's Nikola Bartunkova, ranked 34th in the world, in an hour and 35 minutes.

The 20-year-old Czech player said: "I kept my focus to stay calm. She is a legend... so I am very happy with this win."

Bartunkova will face Austria's Sinja Kraus, ranked 95th in the world, in a bid to reach the round of 16.

Sabalenka had five break point opportunities in the sixth game of the first set, but failed to capitalize on any of them.

She then vented her frustration by throwing her racket to the ground after losing her serve in the second set, before surrendering on the first match point.

Sabalenka, a former world number one, joined Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, currently ranked number one, who lost her opening match in the tournament in the second round to Armenia's Alina Charaeva, ranked 118th globally, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6 on Saturday.

Russian Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion, booked her spot in the fourth round by defeating Uzbekistan's Polina Kudermetova 6-4 and 6-1, setting up a meeting with Ukraine's Daria Snigur, who defeated Australia's Taylah Preston 6-1 and 6-0.

Czechia's Linda Noskova, the fifth seed and Wimbledon champion—the third of the Grand Slam tournaments—easily brushed past her Swiss opponent Viktorija Golubic 6-2 and 6-1.

In her next match, Noskova will face Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova, ranked 28th globally and the 19th seed in the tournament, who defeated Russia's Diana Shnaider, the 11th seed in Beijing, 3-6, 6-4, and 6-3.

In the men's competition (500 series), former world number one Daniil Medvedev of Russia defeated Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7/4) and 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.

In the next round, Medvedev will face Serbia's Novak Djokovic, 39, who ousted Germany's Alexander Zverev—world number two and ten years his junior—by defeating him 4-6, 6-4, and 6-4.

Djokovic, the winner of 24 Grand Slam titles who currently ranks 11th globally, was not the favorite to win against Zverev, who claimed his first two major titles this season (Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows) and is seeking to claim the world number one ranking.

Djokovic maintained an exceptional undefeated match streak in Beijing.

Poland's Hubert Hurkacz also reached the semi-finals by defeating Russia's Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7-2) and 6-2, and will face Australia's Alex de Minaur, who passed a grueling test to defeat Russia's Andrey Rublev 1-6, 6-2, and 6-3.