ATP Tour

Alcaraz unstoppable in Tokyo, sinks Lehecka to defend ATP 500 crown

After a 2026 season disrupted by injury, Carlos Alcaraz marched back to his title-winning ways on Tuesday evening at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings overcame Jiri Lehecka 7-6(4), 6-4 to successfully defend his crown at the hard-court ATP 500 event in Tokyo. Alcaraz was kept on his toes throughout a hard-fought final by Lehecka, but he found moments of magic just when he needed them to earn his first tour-level trophy since Doha in February.

“I’m really happy to be able to lift a trophy again,” Alcaraz, who did not compete between Barcelona in April and the US Open in late August due to a wrist injury. “It’s been a while, and obviously it is extra special after my injury. My comeback, in the second tournament that I’ve played, lifting a trophy means a lot.

“I’m really happy about it. A tough week. I didn’t find my best level, but I did find the good solutions, and I think that is what matters at the end. Playing the most important points the best you can. I think I did it this week. I would say today was the best match of the week, or at least more consistent, the level that I played.”

Alcaraz dug deep after dropping serve in the opening game of Tuesday’s final, and later also raised his level spectacularly when 2/4 down in the first-set tie-break. The Spaniard reeled off five consecutive points to claim the set and, with his forehand in particular firing, then clinched the only break of the second set in the seventh game.

With his 96-minute win, Alcaraz improved to 21-0 at ATP 500 level since his defeat to Holger Rune in the 2025 Barcelona final. He is just the third man to successfully defend the Tokyo title, after two of his fellow ATP No. 1 Club members: Stefan Edberg, who won three crowns on the bounce from 1989 to 1991, and Pete Sampras, who triumphed in 1993 and 1994.

“Obviously a lot of negative thoughts come to your mind,” Alcaraz said, when asked if he ever feared not tasting trophy success again during his time out injured. “If you are going to come back healthy, if you are going to come back the same as I was before. If I will be able to hit the ball normally without pain at all. A lot of thoughts came to my mind, but I tried to put those thoughts away all the time.

“My team and I knew that if I come back I was going to feel 100 per cent. If I feel something, [the comeback is] not going to be anything, so I just have to go full for every shot, every ball, and I trust [my team], I trust myself, and it worked out.”

Alcaraz entered Tuesday’s final well aware of how dangerous the World No. 19 Lehecka can be, after the Czech won their 2025 quarter-final clash in Doha. Indeed, it was Lehecka who made the more positive start inside Ariake Coliseum, striking the ball with confidence and immediately earning three break points, converting the third.

Yet as Alcaraz had so often during his run in Tokyo, where he battled through three-setters against Alex Michelsen and Jaume Munar en route to the final, the Spaniard was primed and ready to step up in key moments. He reclaimed the early break in the sixth game, which he sealed with a clean backhand winner, and grasped the momentum superbly when down in the subsequent tie-break.

Alcaraz finished the match having won 85 per cent (33/39) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 23-year-old, who has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, has leapfrogged Ben Shelton into third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as a result of his Tokyo title run.