ATP Japan Open Round-Up: Berrettini seals quick victory as Shapovalov and Tiafoe suffer shock exits

The ATP 500 Japan Open in Tokyo has begun, gathering several of the ATP's biggest names in the second week of the Asian swing. Some significant players took to the courts for the first round, including a convincing victory by Matteo Berrettini over Jaume Munar in straight sets, marking his first win since the Rome Open in May.

Meanwhile, a couple of surprises occurred with two seeded players being eliminated. The 7th seed Denis Shapovalov fell in straight sets to Germany's Daniel Altmaier, while the 8th seed Frances Tiafoe couldn't hold onto his lead and collapsed against Márton Fucsovics in the first round. Both eliminated players were in the top half of the draw—the same section as Carlos Alcaraz—opening up spaces in the top half.

The former Wimbledon runner-up had returned to the courts a week ago at the Hangzhou Open, but was defeated by 22-year-old Czech Dalibor Svrčina. This time, in his second match of the Asian swing, Berrettini delivered an impeccable performance to secure a 6-4, 6-2 victory against world No. 49 Jaume Munar, a player who has been performing well in recent months.

The Italian had a complicated first set, landing only 46% of his first serves against his opponent's 69%. However, Berrettini showed his class in the important moments, grabbing a single break midway through the set and then clinging to his serve until the end. The Italian overcame 6 break points against him throughout the set but ended up taking the lead in a tough 6-4 battle after almost an hour of play.

In the second set, the Italian seized the momentum and secured an early break, putting him in a comfortable lead. With a degree of tranquility, Berrettini stayed comfortably ahead in the set, conceding barely four service points throughout before closing out the victory 6-4, 6-2 and advancing to the second round in Tokyo. The Italian will face the winner between Casper Ruud (4th) and Shintaro Mochizuki (WC) in the next round.

Denis Shapovalov suffered a surprising defeat in the first round in Tokyo against Daniel Altmaier. The Canadian was playing his first match since the US Open, a tournament where he reached the third round and eventually fell to Jannik Sinner.

The world No. 26 had a decent first set, overcoming several break points against him and being the first to take the lead. The Canadian served at 5-3 with the chance to close the first set, but a single break opportunity for Altmaier ended up changing the match. Shapovalov then had up to four set points on return, but Altmaier navigated through them all, signing a remarkable set closing where he went from 3-5 down to winning 7-5 in 55 minutes.

In the second set, Shapovalov initially capitalized on the lead he carried from the first and grabbed an early break, taking advantage of the tension. Both players then clung to their serves, and without conceding major opportunities, the games passed without either player getting a break chance. However, Shapovalov failed to maintain the game rhythm of Altmaier and ended up conceding a final chance when he was serving to stay in the set. Altmaier converted the second break and closed out the victory 7-5, 6-3, advancing to the second round.

Another surprise at the start of the tournament was the defeat of Frances Tiafoe in the first round, despite taking a one-set lead. The 8th seed had been performing well, taking the first set 6-3 after saving five break points against him and capitalizing on the only break opportunity his opponent offered. Fucsovics was actually having a good serving match—winning 85% of his first serve points—but in pressure points, "Big Foe" always managed to impose himself.

However, things inverted from the second set onwards. Fucsovics took absolute control, securing two consecutive breaks—five games in a row. In fact, after winning his first service game to love, Fucsovics went on a 15-point winning streak, dominating the set and leading 5-0. Tiafoe managed to hold serve just once, but it wasn't enough for a comeback in a set that ended 6-1 in favor of the Hungarian, who won an incredible 71% of the points played.

In the third set, things leveled out, and Tiafoe even had his chances to win. He stayed ahead for a good part of the set, but Fucsovics always managed to counter with his serve. When the score was 5-5, the break came in favor of the experienced Hungarian, who ended up closing out the victory 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 and securing his passage to the second round.