TOKYO, Oct 5 (Reuters) – Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a shaky start to beat fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar 5-7 6-3 6-1 on Monday and reach the Japan Open final, moving closer to his first singles title since returning from a wrist injury.
The top-seeded Alcaraz will face Czech Jiri Lehecka in Tuesday’s final after the eighth seed beat Valentin Vacherot 6-4 6-2.
Alcaraz, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open in February, suffered a wrist injury two months later and returned at the U.S. Open, where he reached the quarter-finals.
The 23-year-old continued his return to form during Team Europe’s successful Laver Cup campaign last month and looked in control against qualifier Munar when he led 5-4 in the opening set.
But the Spaniard surrendered 16 consecutive points to hand Munar the first set after two poor service games.
“I don’t know what happened in the first set,” Alcaraz said.
“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.”
Alcaraz raised his level in the second set, breaking twice to force a decider before taking control against the world number 49 with a series of aggressive winners.
“I made a couple of breaks that helped a lot to get a bit of confidence, then I started to play more aggressively,” he said.
Lehecka, meanwhile, made light work of Vacherot to reach his first final of the season and remain on course for his first title of 2026.
