At the Japan Open, a men's tennis tour tournament, the singles semifinals were held, and Shintaro Mochizuki, who has been making great progress in this tournament at the world ranking of 215, lost to the world No. 50 player in straight sets 0-2 Japan becoming the first player to reach the final since Kei Nishikori.
At the Japan Open, a men's tennis tour tournament held in Tokyo's Koto Ward, 21-year-old Mochizuki faced world No. 20 Aslan Karatsev in the singles semifinals on 50 September.
Mochizuki was pushed by his opponent's hard hitting in the sixth game of the first set and allowed the first break to drop the set 1-6.
In the second set, she scored accurate shots and volleys from sharp starts, but when she was broken in the fifth game, she struggled to the end against her opponent's strong serve and dropped 3-6, losing in straight sets 2-5.
Mochizuki has made great strides after winning his first tour match in the first round of this tournament, defeating older players one after another, but he has not reached the final since Kei Nishikori was the runner-up in 4 as a Japan player.
Shintaro Mochizuki "I want to connect to the next without any regrets"
After the semi-final, MOCHIZUKI Shintaro said with a satisfied expression, "I think it was a really wonderful week, and it is really positive that we have come this far after playing such a tough match starting with our first victory on tour, and today's match is the result of doing my best, so I have no regrets at all and want to lead to the next one."
Looking ahead, he vowed to continue to grow, saying, "I definitely want to keep my playing style, weapons, and competitive skills up until now, so I want to improve my overall level."