Alcaraz into Japan semis as Gauff wins in China

Carlos Alcaraz marched into the semi-finals of the Japan Open with an imperious 6-2 6-4 victory over Brandon Nakashima in Tokyo.

The Spanish top seed fired 39 winners and never faced a break point as he brushed aside the American, dismissing any lingering concerns about an ankle injury he sustained in the opening round.

The world number one will face Norwegian fourth seed Casper Ruud in the semi-finals on Monday as he aims for an eighth ATP title of an astonishing season.

"I think I just played unbelievable today, I'm not going to lie," said Alcaraz.

"I felt like I could do everything on court, playing every shot."

Elsewhere, Coco Gauff overcame more problems with her serve to edge past Leylah Fernandez in the third round of the China Open in Beijing.

Alcaraz is the clear favourite to pick up a fourth hard court title of the year in Japan, following wins in Rotterdam, the Cincinnati Masters and at the US Open earlier this month.

The 22-year-old six-time Grand Slam champion has also added three titles on clay - at Monte Carlo, Rome and in the French Open at Roland Garros - and one on grass - at Queen's.

Three of the top four seeds remain in the draw for the semi-finals in Tokyo, however, with third seed Holgar Rune the only high-profile casualty in the quarter-finals.

Denmark's Rune went down 6-3 6-3 to 24-year-old American Jenson Brooksby, who is set to jump from 86 in the world to at least 57th when the rankings are next updated following his impressive run in Tokyo.

Brooksby will meet compatriot Taylor Fritz after the second seed reached the last four with a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win over another American, Sebastian Korda.

Ruud, meanwhile, will meet Alcaraz after claiming a 6-3 6-2 victory over Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic.

Defending champion Gauff came through an error-strewn third-round match at the China Open, saying "I did what I needed to do to win" against Fernandez.

She eventually won a tight encounter in three sets - 6-4 4-6 7-5 - but the problems with her serve that brought the American second seed to tears at the US Open resurfaced in Beijing.

The 21-year-old two-time Grand Slam champion served nine double faults and was broken seven times in the match.

Both players struggled with their serve, with 15 breaks in total throughout, including eight in the final set - three on Gauff's serve and five on Fernandez's.

Gauff served twice for the match from 5-2 up, only to be broken on both occasions by the Canadian world number 25, but she gathered herself at 5-5 to break straight back and finally served out the match, sealing victory on her second match point.

"It was very physical, we were going back and forth," Gauff said in her on-court interview.

"Obviously the third set I was playing pretty well. I know I could have served a little bit better, but I did what I needed to do to win today."

Gauff will now face either Swiss 15th seed Belinda Bencic or Australian Priscilla Hon in the last 16 of the WTA 1000 event.