TOKYO: World number one Carlos Alcaraz shrugged off an ankle injury to beat Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday in a gritty start to his Japan Open campaign. US Open champion Alcaraz crumpled to the ground chasing a shot in the fifth game of the opening set in Tokyo and sat on the court grimacing for several minutes. The Spaniard had his left ankle heavily strapped during a medical timeout before gingerly returning. He soon began to move comfortably and broke world number 41 Baez to take a 5-4 lead.