Alcaraz keeps his Tokyo title. The tiebreak at 2-4 is where Lehecka lost it.
Jiri Lehecka led the first-set tiebreak 4-2. Carlos Alcaraz then won five points in a row, and the Czech never led again.
Final, Japan Open, Tokyo — Tuesday, October 6, 2026 [1] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) d. Jiri Lehecka (CZE) 7-6(4), 6-4 · 96 minutes
The week before the final
The draw thinned out early. On the first Thursday, qualifier Jaume Munar came from a set down to beat third seed Taylor Fritz 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 in just under three hours, saving seven of the eight break points he faced, according to the ATP's match stats. "Huge battle today," Munar said afterward, in remarks published by the ATP. He followed it with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Jaime Faria and kept going all the way to the semifinals.
He wasn't the only seed-slayer. Ugo Humbert beat fifth seed Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-3 in 70 minutes without facing a break point. Luciano Darderi removed sixth seed Casper Ruud 7-6(3), 6-3. Qualifier Daniel Vallejo beat Rafael Jodar 6-1, 6-3.
Two results mattered for reasons beyond the bracket. Holger Rune played his first tour-level match since last October and lost 6-3, 6-1 to Kyrian Jacquet. And Kei Nishikori, the 2012 and 2014 champion, played the last match of his career, a 6-4, 6-4 first-round loss to second seed Frances Tiafoe. The tournament scheduled his tribute ceremony for finals day.
In the semifinals, Munar took the first set off Alcaraz before losing 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. Lehecka, ranked 19th, beat eighth seed Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2.
How the final started
Lehecka broke in the opening game and moved ahead 3-1. Alcaraz, who led their head-to-head 3-1 coming in, got the break back and leveled at 3-3. From there both men held to the tiebreak.
The turn
At 2-4 in the breaker, Lehecka was two service points from a set lead against the top seed. Alcaraz took the next five points, closing the set 7-4.
The second set held on serve until the seventh game, when Alcaraz broke for 4-3. He served it out.
The match stats explain why the one break was enough. Lehecka hit more aces (seven to four) and no double faults. But Alcaraz won 85 percent of his first-serve points and 72 percent behind his second serve; Lehecka won 54 percent on his second. On return, Alcaraz won 23 points to Lehecka's 12. Total points finished 69-60.
What it adds up to
It was Alcaraz's 27th career title, his third of 2026, and his first since Doha in February, after a wrist injury kept him off tour for several months. He is the first man to win Tokyo in consecutive years since Pete Sampras in 1993 and 1994. "Today I played the best match of the entire tournament," he said after the final.
The doubles
Fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Nikola Mektic reached the final by beating top seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-5, 7-6(3). Second seeds Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti got there by saving two match points against Rinky Hijikata and Kaito Uesugi, winning 4-6, 6-4, 12-10. The final was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon; its result had not been confirmed in the reports available at the time of writing.
What a club player can steal from it
Lehecka won the ace count and lost the match on second serves and return points. Next time you keep score of your own match, track second-serve points won instead of aces. If that number sits near 50 percent, play a practice set where you get one serve per point — it forces you to build a second serve you can trust under pressure.
What's next
According to AFP, Alcaraz is scheduled to start at the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday.
Built from published match reports and official ATP results; the writer was not in attendance. Correction policy: if a fact here turns out to be wrong, it will be fixed and noted at the foot of this post.
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