Tennis: Japanese sensation Mochizuki continues his journey in Tokyo

The surprising Japanese, Shintaro Mochizuki, 215th in the world, qualified on Friday for the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo after a bitter battle against the Australian Alexei Popyrin (N.41) 7-5 , 2-6, 7-5.

Beneficiary of an invitation, the 20-year-old player continued his exploits after beating the American Taylor Fritz (10th), defending champion and number 1 seed, in the previous round. Against Popyrin, Mochizuki continued to play without complexes sending devastating backhands along the line and taking advantage of his opponent's numerous mistakes on decisive points. He won after 2h 23min.

“It’s incredible, I just wanted to spend a round here in Tokyo and there, I won three matches,” reacted the local hero with a smile. On Saturday, “I’m going to face (Aslan) Karatsev. He’s playing well this week, but I’m going to recover well this (Friday) evening and come back strong tomorrow.”

The Russian, 50th in the world, easily defeated Australian Alex De Minaur (13th) 6-3, 6-2, another great performance after beating Frances Tiafoe (N.14) at the start of the tournament.

“I kept my game plan, I kept my ideas clear. I remained calm during the important moments (...) I think the key was to keep my plan and stay focused” reacted Karatsev, aged 30.

Earlier, it was the American Ben Shelton (19th), who qualified by beating his compatriot Tommy Paul (12th) 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.