The Spanish world number one hurt his ankle in his opening match at the Japan Open but shrugged off the issue to beat American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

But immediately after downing the world number five, the six-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz took aim at the tennis calendar.

“The schedule is really tight. They have to do something with the schedule,” the recently crowned US Open champion told reporters in the Japanese capital, echoing the sentiments this week of fellow major champions Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.

Alcaraz subsequently wrote on Instagram that he will not play at the prestigious Shanghai Masters starting this week.

“Unfortunately I’ve been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover,” the 22-year-old wrote.

Alcaraz injured his ankle last week in Tokyo as he ran for a shot, crumpling to the ground and sitting on the court for about five minutes.

He returned to play with heavy strapping on his ankle and has admitted that the injury had been on his mind throughout the tournament.

It did not appear to bother him against Fritz, as he gave another breathtaking display to lift the trophy in his first appearance in Japan.

He clinched victory with a cleverly disguised drop shot before strolling to the net to give Fritz a warm embrace.

The win gave Alcaraz a measure of revenge after losing to Fritz for the first time at the Laver Cup in San Francisco two weeks ago.