Carlos Alcaraz wins first ATP title since February with successful Japan Open title defence against Jiri Lehecka

Carlos Alcaraz has become the first player since Pete Sampras in 1994 to defend the Japan Open title. While not at his best throughout the competition, he proved too strong for the rest of the competition, defeating Jiri Lehecka 7-6(4), 6-4 to prevail on the big stage once more.

It is a 27th ATP title for the World No.3, the first since the Qatar Open triumph all the way back in February. Injury has halted his charge in recent months, with this event in Tokyo his second ATP competition since his return.

Not the most overly convincing tournament display with some very sketchy performances at times. He managed to avoid scares against Alex Michelsen and Matteo Arnaldi before Denis Shapovalov’s retirement set up a semi-final showdown against Jaume Munar. After losing the first set, Alcaraz was a man on a mission, dropping just four games for the rest of the match to blast into the final.

He would face off against Lehecka who was the first Czech representative in the climax of the Japan Open since Tomas Berdych in 2008. It was a second ATP final of the year, following the Miami Open defeat to Jannik Sinner. He would again face one of the world’s best, and again fall short.

Lehecka got the jump in the early stages, but parity was soon restored as the first set went to a tiebreak. Alcaraz stamped his authority on the final with some incredible tennis before finding the solitary breakthrough to send him on his merry way to glory, continuing his 100% record in this tournament.

The No.1 seed was the favourite to win this final but was not having everything go his way at the start of the match. He had made a trend of being dragged into turbulent first set thrillers, and this contest was no different. Lehecka began with a statement break of serve before backing it up with a convincing hold to love.

Alcaraz soon got on the board but found himself behind 3-1. Two games later, he dragged himself back level. It was not a simple break but a titanic game that saw Lehecka miss numerous chances to reinstate his three-game lead with a trio of break points going the way of Alcaraz. He took the latter, and parity was restored.

The first set remained in the balance four games later as the contest was tied at 5-5. Both players kept their cool, and a tiebreak was confirmed. While Lehecka led in the early stages, the Spaniard was pulling off some tremendous shots. He ticked off six of the last seven points to seize an ominous set lead.

The Lehecka game needed to be at its best throughout the whole match if he was to have a chance of winning a third ATP title. It had trailed off in the tiebreak, but that was in tandem with Alcaraz playing his best stuff.

He failed to create anything against the Alcaraz serve in the first six games of the second set but, in turn, was finding a lot of joy on his own serve. That was until the seventh game. Alcaraz forced Lehecka into some huge mistakes, creating the first break point since halfway through the first set, and he needed no second invitation to convert.

He moved two games away from defending his title. He cemented his advantage with a hold of serve, and Lehecka was forced to be immaculate from here until the end. He forced Alcaraz to serve it out, but it was a tall order to contain the seven-time Grand Slam champion in this mood. He saw out the final and is back in the winning enclosure after a few months away from it.