Carlos Alcaraz won the Japan Open in Tokyo. In the final of the ATP 500 hard-court event with a prize fund of $2.4 million, the Spaniard beat Czech Jiri Lehecka 7-6 6-4.
Tiebreak and one more break to finish
The first set ended 7-6: after the games were tied, it went to a tiebreak, and Alcaraz took it. In the second, the Spaniard won 6-4 and closed out the match in straight sets.
Alcaraz’s path to the title began with Alex Michelsen (7-6 4-6 6-1). He then beat Matteo Arnaldi (7-6 6-1), Denis Shapovalov and Jaume Munar (5-7 6-3 6-1). Over the entire tournament, the Spaniard dropped two sets: to Michelsen and Munar. Lehecka came through Zizou Bergs (6-3 6-7 6-3), Ugo Humbert (5-7 6-4 6-4), Daniel Vallejo (6-1 6-1) and Vacherot (6-4 6-2).
Before the Tokyo final, the rivals had met four times, and Lehecka had won three of them: in London in 2023 (6-2 6-3), at the US Open (6-4 6-2 6-4) and in London in 2025 (7-5 6-7 6-2). Alcaraz had won only in Doha in 2025 (6-3 3-6 6-4). According to rank.tennis, Alcaraz is third in the rankings with 5260 points, while Lehecka is 18th with 2210.