Carlos Alcaraz continues to demonstrate excellent form and achieved another serious success in his career. The Spanish star defended his title from last season at the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo, after dealing with Jiri Lehecza in the final match.
Alcaraz prevailed in two sets – 7:6(4), 6:4, showing the necessary concentration in the decisive moments and not allowing his Czech rival to reach a decisive third part.
The first set was extremely equal and neither of the two tennis players was able to make a breakthrough. Thus, it naturally came to a tiebreak, in which the Spaniard demonstrated stronger nerves. Alcaraz won the long game 7:4 and took an important step towards defending the trophy.
The second part also offered a contested battle, but the world No. 1 managed to find the necessary advantage. He made a key breakthrough and subsequently maintained his lead to close the match at 6:4.
The curious thing is that this was the fourth of Alcaraz's five matches in the Japanese capital in which he won the first set precisely through a tiebreak. Before the final, the same scenario played out in his matches with Alex Mickelsen, Matteo Arnaldi and Denis Shapovalov.
The success in Tokyo brings Alcaraz his third trophy of the season. Before the triumph in the Japanese capital, the Spaniard won the Australian Open and the tournament in Doha.
However, the season for the 23-year-old tennis player was far from smooth. Alcaraz missed a significant part of the campaign due to injury, but after his return he gradually regained his best form and started accumulating victories and titles again.
The triumph over Lejecska is also important for an impressive series for the Spaniard. Alcaraz can now boast of 21 consecutive matches won in ATP 500 tournaments.
For Lejecska, the final in Tokyo was an opportunity to win a prestigious trophy, but the Czech was unable to take the final step. Nevertheless, his performance in the Japanese capital remains among his strong performances of the season.
Alcaraz, for his part, continues to consolidate his status as one of the leading players in world tennis. After another success in Tokyo, the Spaniard is already looking at the next challenges on the calendar with even greater confidence.