Key Takeaways
- Carlos Alcaraz rallied past Jaume Munar 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 to reach his first ATP final since April.
- After letting a 5-3 lead slip in the opening set, Alcaraz rebounded by controlling rallies with his forehand and net play.
- The world No. 3 moves into his fourth final of the season, where he will meet Jiri Lehecka for the Tokyo title.
Defending champion recovers from opening-set stumble
World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz booked his place in his first ATP final since April after overcoming compatriot Jaume Munar in Tokyo. The Spaniard rallied from a set down to claim a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory, securing his fourth ATP final of the season and setting up a title clash against Jiri Lehecka.
The semifinal began with both players holding serve comfortably across the opening 6 games. Serving at 3-3, Alcaraz stepped inside the baseline on return to crack a forehand down-the-line winner, earning the first break of the encounter. He quickly consolidated with an ace to establish a 5-3 lead and reached deuce in the following game.
Sudden turnaround in the opening set
Munar dug deep to erase the deficit, holding to stay alive before taking full advantage of a sudden dip from the higher-ranked Spaniard. Serving for the set at 5-4, Alcaraz lost his rhythm and surrendered his delivery at love.
The world No. 3 continued to misfire at 5-6, double-faulting to concede another love break. Munar completed a run of 4 consecutive games to snatch the opener 7-5, capitalizing on his rival’s second-serve vulnerabilities and lack of service winners.
Turning the momentum
Alcaraz responded immediately by breaking Munar to start the second set, only to drop his own serve right away. However, the seven-time Major champion regained control in the third game, converting a break point with a volley winner before fending off a break opportunity on his own serve to take a 3-1 lead.
Controlling the rallies through his forehand and frequent visits to the net, Alcaraz settled on serve and forced an error at 5-3 to break again, leveling the contest after 1 hour and 54 minutes.
Commanding finish to secure final berth
The decider quickly tilted toward the favorite. After denying a break point in the opening game with an authoritative smash winner, Alcaraz applied sustained pressure as Munar let game points slip away before dropping serve via a forced error.
A second break followed in the fourth game, opening up a commanding 4-0 cushion. Alcaraz held at love with a forehand winner for 5-1 and closed out the match in the next game, ripping another clean forehand winner to cross the finish line after 1 hour and 31 minutes of total game action and pursue his first ATP title since February.
ATP Tokyo - Carlos Alcaraz's projected path
Alcaraz in Tokyo, ranking, and results in 2026
Currently the world no.3, Alcaraz has achieved a composed 31-4 match record in 2026. The Spaniard is playing at the moment in Tokyo where he ousted the world no.35 Alex Michelsen 7-6(1) 4-6 6-1, the world no.38 Matteo Arnaldi 7-6(6) 6-1, the world no.42 Denis Shapovalov 7-6(3) 2-1 ret. and the world no.49 Jaume Antoni Munar Clar 5-7 6-3 6-1.
Carlos Alcaraz will take on the world no.9 Alex De Minaur in the Round Robin on Unknown at 5:00 pm on Court 1. Their actual record is 6-0 for Alcaraz.
Carlos clinched 2 titles in 2026 at the Australian Open and Doha.
The Spaniard won 27 titles in his career: 10 on hard courts, 11 on clay courts, 2 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
