Tokyo
Tiafoe, Shapovalov stumble as opening-day upsets shock Tokyo
Fucsovics rallies past former finalist Tiafoe; Berrettini earns first win since May
September 24, 2025
Richard A. Brooks/Getty Images
Marton Fucsovics is up seven spots to No. 51 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
By Jerome Coombe
Frances Tiafoe and Denis Shapovalov both watched bright beginnings slip away on a turbulent opening Wednesday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.
Taifoe suffered his first opening-round hard-court loss of the season (10-1) at the hands of qualifier Marton Fucsovics, who fought for a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory. The 2022 Tokyo finalist pressed hard in a topsy-turvy decider marked by three service breaks, but Fucsovics won a series of bruising baseline exchanges to seal the upset.
Tokyo Debut Delight! 👏
Marton Fucsovics takes out 8th seed Tiafoe (3-6 6-1 7-5) to move into Round 2 @japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/YCM4fIq1Dw
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 24, 2025
By improving to 3-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Tiafoe, Fucsovics climbed seven spots to No. 51 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The Hungarian won his third ATP Tour title in Winston-Salem last month and will continue his campaign in the Japanese capital against Brandon Nakashima or Jordan Thompson.
Shapovalov’s exit came earlier against Daniel Altmaier, who scored for his fifth Top 30 win of the season with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph. Shapovalov — in his first outing since marrying partner Mirjam Bjorklund — will rue his missed opportunities in the opening set.
The Canadian dropped four straight games from 5-3, and missed four set points on return at 5-4 before Altmaier clawed back the momentum and raced to a 90-minute victory. The 27-year-old Altmaier is now on the verge of a new milestone: He is up to No. 49 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, just one shy of his career high.
In other early action on Day 1 in Tokyo, Matteo Berrettini earned his first victory since May by moving past Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-2. The Italian returned to action last week in Hangzhou after a two-and-a-half month injury hiatus, but fell to lucky loser Dalibor Svrcina in his opener.
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Although the former World No. 6 Berrettini hit 28 unforced errors against Munar and did not look typically sharp, he was able to count on his aggressive game and overpowered the Spaniard with 32 winners. He also saved all eight break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and will next face fourth seed Casper Ruud or home wild card Shintaro Mochizuki.
Nuno Borges also advanced, rallying past wild card Yosuke Watanuki 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 for his personal-best 25th win of the season. Next in his debut campaign in Tokyo, the Portuguese set up a big-serving clash with second seed Taylor Fritz or Gabriel Diallo, who face off on Thursday.
