Japan Open 2026: Defending or reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz wobbled but eventually defeated fellow Spainard Jaume Munar 5-7 6-3 6-1 to reach the Japan Open 2026 final on October 5, Monday.
In the process, the youngster has taken a significant step towards his first singles title since returning from the wrist injury.
Japan Open 2026: Who will Carlos Alcaraz face in the final?
He will face Czech Jiri Lehecka in Tuesday’s final. Alcaraz completed the career Grand Slam by capturing the Australian Open title in February but suffered the injury two months later and only came back at the US Open, where a quarter-final run hinted at a swift return to form. He lost a heartbreaking match to the eventual runner-up Ben Shelton, ending his US Open campaign. The 23-year-old, who moved through the gears during Team Europe’s triumphant Laver Cup campaign last month, looked comfortable against qualifier Munar in Tokyo at 5-4 before gifting him the opening set with two shaky service games.
I don’t know what happened in the first set. I started the match well, got a break and was serving for the set, but I don’t know what happened. It seems like I’m struggling every first set. But the way that I come back every time, I think I’m just really happy about it. Jaume’s a pretty tough player and these conditions suit him pretty well. I just tried to stay there as much as I could. I made a couple of breaks that helped a lot to get a bit of confidence, then I started to play more aggressively,” said top seed Alcaraz, who dropped 16 consecutive points at the end of it.
After a sluggish start to the second set, Alcaraz raised his level to force a decider and the seven-times major champion wore world number 49 Munar down with stunning shot-making to book a title clash with Lehecka on Tuesday. Lehecka beat eighth seed Valentin Vacherot 6-4 6-2 to make the final and stay on course for his first trophy of the season.